Mikleo 1

2

I know only of hate

Before I stare into those eyes of yours

Which seem to captivate not only my soul

But my fragile heart for the taking too

Chapter 2 ~ Faction

Nayla knows that she can hear more people than she can see, but the situation is still such a bizarre occurrence. Are there more seraphs present at the table? 

“You okay there?” Sorey asks her, breaking her out of her thoughts.

“Feeling better,” she bites back a retort, not really wanting to recall what had occurred in her room. How dare that Mikleo guy enter her room while she was asleep — okay, so maybe it is not her room, but it is still improper. What business did he have that required him to be in there while she was unconscious? While she was wearing less than she prefers in the presence of company, nonetheless.

“That’s great. Come on, there are some people I’d like you to meet,” the brown haired boy says. She wants to move and takes a seat anywhere, but she is not sure which one has not been occupied yet. Sensing her dilemma, he pats down to the chair next to him, which she gratefully accepts.

The first person he introduces is a beige haired girl named Alisha, who is sitting at the head of the table. She seems to be around their age or so, and she looks sweet and friendly. They exchange greetings, before Nayla knows the girl’s actual identity. It is discovered that she is a princess and a knight, but also their host. Nayla’s eyes bulge in realization, before attempting an awkward bow to royalty. Alisha quickly dismisses her though, not wanting the new girl to treat her formally just because of her status.

The next girl that is being introduced sits next to Princess Alisha — no, Knight Alisha. The girl prefers being referred to as a fighter — which means opposite to Sorey. She has short wavy hair in the shade of roses and deep blue eyes. As it turns out, her name also happens to be Rose. “Hey, it’s nice to have another human in the group,” she exclaims with a wide grin, causing Nayla to smile in return. The girl also admits to being the daughter of a merchant. That is such a coincidence, as Nayla arrived at Ladylake through hitchhiking a merchant’s cart.

Nayla then learns that the girls both act as Squires, who have helped Sorey in his role as a Shepherd in more times than they can count. Like Nayla, they could not see Seraphs as well in the beginning. But once they became Squires, they were blessed with the sight. They speculated that it might be what is happening to Nayla as well, but she has no Seraphs around her before.

After that is cleared up, the new girl turns her attention to the five empty dining chairs by the table. Noticing her curiosity, she starts to hear more of the invisible voices.

“Ah, Nayla, such a pretty name for a pretty girl,” comes the sound of a husky male. “Tell me, do you already have a young lad you are promised to back home, or are you still looking for one? Because if you are, I’d—”

Smack! Comes the sound of someone being hit in the head, loud enough for her to hear. “Ouch, that hurts, Lailah!”

“That’s what you get for being imprudent,” says a soft and ladylike reply. It must have been Lailah, Nayla assumes. She watches as a tea cup is being lifted from a few chairs down the table, before being sipped politely. Nayla can just picture the female seraph, Lailah, drinking the tea properly like a noble, pinky lifted up and all.

“Ppfftss! You’re just jealous that I’m hitting on the new girl. Why, Lailah, do you prefer if I flirt with you instead?” the first male voice asks sheepishly. Before long, comes a yelp of pain from the same man. “My foot!” he protests.

“I don’t understand why you even bother, Zaveid,” she hears another male voice retorts, more silkier than the other man’s, yet holds the same masculinity. Now this voice she knows very well — and dread for, unfortunately. Mikelo then continues, “Besides, she probably doesn’t. I mean, look at her. Who would want to offer their hand to a girl like her.”

“What?” Nayla snaps her head so instinctively to Sorey’s right, they almost think that she can actually see the seraph boy, because her eyes are aimed directly at Mikelo’s right on. “For your information, I got plenty of offers back home. I just couldn’t accept any of them.”

“That sounds doubtful, almost like a lie,” he taunts back. “I mean, why would you reject their offers, if what you are saying is even true? Surely the offers that come your way will not get any better. What are you waiting for?” His words make her blood boil. What a spoil as well, to be able to make her so worked up so early in the morning.

“Whether they are even real or not, that’s is none of your business,” she bites in return, sticking her tongue out in annoyance. She does not know why, but arguing with him somehow brings out the childish side of her that she has clearly missed. It is not easy growing up being haunted by her mother’s murder.

“My, my, what is this?” chides in a new girl’s voice. “Mikleo is fighting with a girl? That’s a rare sight to see, especially from someone as cool headed as you. I wonder. Could it be . . . that you fancy this girl?”

“That’s nonsense, Edna,” Mikelo quickly dismisses the younger girl. “She just irritates me with her presence, that is all.”

“If you’re so irritated seeing me, then why did you sneak into my bedroom?” Nayla quips back, but immediately regrets her words. The entire table seems to light up in interest now, glancing back and forth between the two of them.

“Don’t misunderstand. I was just checking on you since Sorey worried about you so much,” Mikleo’s tone almost falter. Almost.

“Woah, woah. Don’t bring me into this. I just wished she would recover soon. I didn’t say anything about you needing to go into a girl’s room,” Sorey swiftly corrects his childhood friend.

“Wait, Mikleo? Sneaking into a girl’s room? Don’t tell me that this happened while she was still asleep?” His silence confirms Lailah’s disapprovement.

“What is this? Did spring comes early for you, Mikleo boy?” Zaveid teases from the other end of the table, most likely grinning from side to side like a cheshire cat right about now.

Nayla does not understand why, but hearing their comments somehow makes her cheeks warm. Why is she blushing like this? It is not like she likes him . . . does she? No, she definitely does not!

“Hmh, that’s just ridiculous,” Mikleo clears his throat before saying, “I was simply checking on her to see if she is okay. That was all there is to it. Don’t add things on your own.”

“Oh, really? Is that so? Then why do you seem bothered by our words?” Edge asks, again noticing his facial expression, which makes Nayla wish that she can see him, just to see how he flusters. It must have been fun. Somehow she feels a little bit of envy from these other humans who can already see the seraphs.

“I am not bothered,” Mikleo stubbornly states.

“Then how to do explain the blush that is creeping on your cheeks?”

“I’m not blushing!”

Edna laughs. “Ahaha, you certainly are now! My, just look at him.”

Just paint me a picture already, Nayla wants to yell out. She can not believe just what kind of victory is she missing. If only she can see him, just to watch him being teased so much until his cheeks turn red. That must be a nice change of pace, instead of his rude, sulky, insulting persona. Frustratedly, she aims her fork to stab a piece of bread, stuffing the delicious bakery into her mouth hungrily. Her eyes sparkle when the flavors hit her taste buds, and she thinks that she has never eaten something so good in her life. Her cooking is okay, but this is world-class quality. As expected from the palace.

“How’s the food, Nayla. Is it to your liking?” Alisha asks politely from her left. The girl simply nods, her mouth too filled with utter deliciousness. Never in a million years did she imagine being treated with such tasty delicacies. Her mind is already filled with her mission. She really has no room for distraction. But for now, she just wants to enjoy the taste.

“If you like the bread, I think you should try the pancake and bacon too,” Rose suggests. “Here, have some,” she scoops a pile to Nayla’s plate, which the girl happily accepts.

“Don’t eat too much or you’ll get fat,” comes a nagging, annoying comment from Sorey’s right. She already knows who it is from, even without learning the tone of the voice. No doubt it is from Mikleo again. What is with him, anyway? It is like he has a personal grudge on her? Is it because he hates humans? But there are two, no three other humans on this table, but he is somehow still picking on her.

“And what is wrong with having a healthy appetite?” she sneers back.

“There is healthy appetite, and there is being gluttonous. You are being the latter right now.”

“Why does that have anything to do with you?”

“It is unsightly to see someone like you eating ever so greedily on such a fine morning. In fact, you’re ruining it right now with your unladylike attitude.”

“And I ask you again, why do you care? If you don’t like me, you can just look away. Stop glancing my way,” she makes a comeback, which seems to have manage to shut him up for good.

“Dang, you have it bad, don’t you?” Zaveid says, but Mikleo ignores his taunting.

“Fighting like a pair of old married couple already,” Edgna giggles to herself.

“Ah, sorry about that,” Sorey turns to her apologetically. “I have no idea what has gotten into him lately. Ever since he met you—”

“Why are you apologizing to her?” Mikleo asks accusingly to his Shepherd. “It should be me who she apologizes to. Because of her, I—” The way he ends his words. It sounds as if he wants to say something, but decides not to.

Before she can ask what he means to say, a shadow overcast their table. All heads turn to the edge of the balcony, where a certain hateful blonde.

“Lunarre,” she hisses at the assassin. Her hand instantly wrapped around the hidden blade by her ankle, her eyes throwing murderous glares at him.

The others go for a fighting stance. By the corner of her eyes, she can see Alisha summoning her spear. Sorey pulls out the sword resting on his waist while Rose produces two twin daggers by each of her hands. It seems like they all already know how dangerous the man is. Good.

“I remember now,” his voice makes her want to recoil in disgust. “You were that little girl whose mom I murdered. Yes, I remember that one clearly now. She was a tough one to kill. Put up a good fight, but I managed to take her life all the same. She is just that, one of the names I had to cross.”

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” she howls at the top of her lungs. She does not want to hear him talk about her mother — it is the same as dishonoring her memories. Someone like him does not deserve to speak of her.

On that second, all vile thoughts cross her mind, causing her to be staggered by a sudden dark feeling. The cold seeps into her body, tasting like freedom and malice. Purple fog bubbles around her, this time faster than before. In an instant, she can feel herself changing. Her sight transcends darker, more violent, and she feels like she can do just about anything.

Including killing him.

Nayla launches herself towards him without a doubt, using all the strength she can muster. Combined with the power of malevolence that is possessing her body, she can finally feel strong enough to defeat him. Her blade is seconds from touching him. She can see the aura flaring with murderous intent. But just before she can cut his throat, he disappears.

The girl loses her balance, almost tipping off the balcony railings if a pair of arms did not wrap themselves around her body. Nayla does not care. She snaps her head, looking for her target, blinded with rage, until she can find him standing ever so tauntingly in the middle of the table. The girl fights off the arms to release her, before slashing another attack.

It is a long range this time, and the slice goes through the table, cutting it perfectly in half. This time it is not just Lunarre who dodges her attack, but the others as well. She looks positively ready to eliminate anything that is in her way.

They have to purify her soon, they know that. If they allow this to keep going on, she will not be able to turn back, or do something that she might regret. Sorey and Lailah quickly do a fusion, turning into a male version of the female seraph, with white hair and white outfit. The fused Sorey tries to get to Nayla, only to be blocked by Lunarre himself.

“Oops, can’t have you ruin the fun just yet,” he says with a wicked smile, before jumping out of the way. Behind him, another incoming attack is launched by Nayla, which Sorey barely has time to dodge.

Rose and Dezel fuse, turning into a long golden platinum haired female in green. They try to distract Lunarre by fighting him head on. “Go and purifier her. We will distract him,” the Rose/Dezel fusion exclaims as they fire dozens of blades at the assassin, giving enough opportunity for the fire fusion to head on.

The Sorey/Lailah fusion shoots a purifying flame towards Nayla, who is being held back from behind by Mikleo. The fire incinerate the malevolence aura surrounding her body, making her cry out loud from the lost of possession.

Nayla feels the burn, but it is a good burn. She mourns for the evaporating power, but it also helps clear her mind and vision. That is when realization hits her hard. She was attacking her mother’s murderer furiously, but she also almost hurt her new friends along the way. She has just met them, but she still feels guilty for what she did, especially when it comes down to the expense of acting on her revenge. The regret echoes through her like being splashed with ice water.

Speaking of water. She looks down, only to feel the hands that are holding her down to be wrapped around her chest area. To be particular, she can sense one set of palms currently cupping her breasts. Nayla stares upward in horror, before inhaling that familiar vanilla scent from behind her. There is no second-guessing to whom belongs to. This is not the first time she is in this close proximity to him. Her heart skips a beat, before she comes down on him.

“Just what the heck do you think you are doing?” she yells out, slapping his hands off her body. Or at least she thinks those are his hands.

“Oh good, you’re back,” is all Mikelo responds with, letting her go as if nothing has transpired.

“Why were your hands on my breasts?” she demands.

“I was just preventing you from wrecking havoc. I’ve got to time to see where I was touching. Besides, I could barely feel a thing, so I thought there should be no issue there,” he retorts back.

“No issue? No issue? You were feeling me up!” she explodes, feeling angry from being provoked with his insults. She had enough. Why does he keep treating her like trash? And why can’t she stop responding to him? She is so upset and confused, combined with the lingering feeling of disorientation after returning back from being a malevolent.

“What’s there to feel when you’re so flat?” he huffs, his tone clearly underestimating her. She is just about to make another comeback, when someone else interrupts her.

“Okay, guys. Since you seem to be okay now, I’m going to assist the others,” the Sorey/Lailah fusion says, turning both of the arguing pair to the real fight.

While Nayla is recovering her senses, the seraphs and Shepherds are fighting off Lunarre. The guy is as slippery and tricky to defeat as he can be. When they launch an attack from one side, he will jump back too many paces for them to land any sort of injury on him. The guy is laughing like a maniac the entire time, obviously enjoying their frustration for being unable to defeat him. They have been trying to defeat him for a while now, but he has always excelled in the fight. The scale is never balanced, it is almost unfair. But when he takes notice that the girl has already been purified, he looks almost disappointed, before retreating.

Nayla can not see the seraphs, but she can see the fusion. Is it because their forms are half-mortal? She can even see when invisible attacks are launched, following the movement of the wind. She also can no longer sense Mikleo's presence nearby. He must have headed off by himself.

“Well, see you later, little brat. Come get me if you can,” he says. That sounds almost like a challenge — one which Nayla would be more than love to fulfill. But he disappears just as soon as he arrives, jumping off the edge of the balcony. She takes off to go after him, the wind blowing strongly as she gets to the boundary, but suddenly pauses when she looks down at the rapid cliff. How can he survive such a fall? Her mental question is answered by a laughing Lunarre who is hopping off between rocks by the bottom of the cliff, crossing the small river underneath.

“Hey, you lot alright?” the Rose/Dezel fusion asks as they regroup.

“A bit exhausted, but we’ll manage,” comes a male respond. Is it Zaveid’s?

The fused individuals turn back to their normal self, and she can see the white formed Sorey turn back to his normal self. She has to admit, it is rather freaky still recognizing him with that long blonde hair and scarlet eyes. Rose looked different too.

“How about you, Nayla? Are you okay?” Alisha asks her, resting her spear against the floor.

“Ah yes, sorry about what happened guys. It was just all a bit too overwhelming,” she says.

“What happened back then? You just suddenly turned violent,” Sorey asks, demanding an explanation. He seems more concerned about her safety than the consequences of her actions.

However, Nayla is not sure if she should answer that question. How will they take on her reason? Will they understand her intent? Will they judge her for seeking justice, because of the path she chose to take? She feels uneasy about this one.

“Well, who cares what her reason is,” surprisingly, it is Mikleo who helps her. “I mean, who doesn’t hate that guy. All he does is cause trouble everywhere,” he says with a brushing off tone. He might be a bit too prideful and arrogant to her liking, but she must admit that he has some good qualities too. Until the next time he opens his mouth to her, at least. “What are you looking at?” he suddenly asks her, catching her off guard.

“What do you mean? I can’t see seraphs, remember?” she tries to come up with an excuse lamely.

“I didn’t say anything about you looking at seraphs. Why? Who are you trying to see?”

This guy. Can’t he just yield for once?

“Never mind,” she glances away, before turning to the others. “I’m sorry about what happened before. I didn’t mean to hurt you guys.”

“Nah, that’s okay. We all know that you didn’t really mean it. It was all the malevolence’s doing,” Rose chirps at her.

“What does that Lunarre have to do with you, anyway? He seems to know you,” Mikleo asks with sudden interest. But since the assassin is their enemy also, she assumes it is not strange that he asks about the guy.

“It . . . has something to do in the past,” is all she can manage to tell. “I have my own reasons for pursuing him.”

“Pursuing him? You’re trying to hunt the guy down? Is this because of the wanted reward?” Alisha asks.

“Wanted?” She shakes her head. Money is not her ultimate goal, even if she knew about that piece of information. But she guesses it is not that far of a stretch, when even the guards are working to stop him from killing anymore nobles. “It has nothing to do with money.”

“Then why are you going after him? That guy’s dangerous, you know. He has killed many innocent lives, including those who are from my village. And you’re just a human, no offence,” Sorey states.

“None taken. I just need to end that guy,” she admits bitterly.

“Wow, don’t react too much, or else you’ll turn into a malevolence again, sweet thing,” Zaveid reminds her cheekily.

“Yeah, I know. Thanks. I’ll try, but I can’t guarantee if he ever shows up again,” Nayla says with a half-smile.