Scared At My End
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“I’m scared at my end.”
The words came from the mouth of a young man who was standing on top of one of the walls. He had black hair, and his eyes were green like emeralds. His clothes consisted only of a white shirt with short sleeves that exposed his muscular arms, as well as brown pants and boots.
The clothing looked very much like what you would see in an anime or manga, but it also felt quite different than anything I’d seen before—it seemed to be made out of some kind of light material.
He stood there for several seconds without saying another word; then he suddenly began jumping up and down while shouting something else: “It’s scary! It’s so scary!”
A second later, a large number of people appeared behind him. They all wore similar outfits to those worn by the first boy, except they were dressed as if they were going camping instead of fighting monsters.
Their weapons included spears, bows, swords, axes, hammers, crossbows…and even guns. Each person carried two sets of equipment: One set for when they fought, and another just in case they needed to flee. However, despite their preparations, none of them showed any signs of being afraid whatsoever. In fact, most of these people didn’t seem worried about anything at all.
“What are you doing?”
This time, the voice belonged to a woman wearing a long dress decorated with flowers. She was probably around twenty years old, and her blonde hair fell over both shoulders. Her blue eyes shone brightly, but she still managed to look somewhat sad. While she was beautiful, however, this wasn’t how I expected someone who looked like a princess to behave.
She walked closer toward the wall-jumping boy, looking annoyed. As soon as he saw her coming, he quickly turned back into a human statue and started waving his hands frantically. Then he shouted, “Don’t come near me! Please don’t get close!”
At last, the girl stopped walking forward. Instead, she sat down next to him and said, “You’re not supposed to jump off the walls, idiot.”
The boy replied with a quiet sigh, “But I can’t help myself. Whenever I’m here…”
As he spoke, tears formed in his eyes. He wiped away the water in order to continue speaking, but then more tears poured forth once again. This continued for several minutes until finally, he let out a single sob and covered his face with his hands. After that, he remained silent for nearly ten seconds.
Then he slowly lifted his head and looked straight at the girl sitting beside him. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak. “Please take care of me,” he whispered.
After hearing those words, the girl smiled gently. “Of course, I will.”
Her response left no room for doubt. Still smiling, she reached out and took hold of the boy’s hand. Then she squeezed it tightly as if trying to reassure him.
When she did this, the boy immediately calmed down. For a moment, I thought that maybe he had been crying because he wanted someone to comfort him. But after seeing how calm and composed he now looked, I realized that couldn’t have possibly been true. If anything, I think he was simply relieved to know that someone cared enough to offer such support.
In fact, I could tell from the way he stared at the girl’s face that he hadn’t noticed her smile yet. That meant she must have done this on purpose, perhaps because she knew exactly what effect it would have.
For whatever reason, the boy kept staring at her for several seconds longer before letting go of her hand and turning it back into a statue. Then he resumed his usual position atop the wall and began jumping up and down again. Soon afterward, a group of soldiers arrived carrying a stretcher. Apparently, the injured party was being brought inside.
Still holding the other boy’s hand, the girl followed them through the gate. When she stepped foot outside, she called out to the soldier who was leading the procession. “Excuse me, is Mr. Fisalis home?”
“Yes, ma’am,” answered the guard, who was apparently the same man I had spoken to earlier. “Mr. Fisalis should be right upstairs.”
The girl nodded and led the others inside. A few moments later, we heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door. Moments later, the door swung open and Mr. Fisalis entered.
His expression was grave, but he gave a small smile when he saw us. “Welcome home, everyone. How was your day? Did you enjoy yourselves?”
Everyone responded positively, and he asked each of them a question. And though he seemed tired, his face brightened considerably whenever anyone mentioned the food or activities at the festival.
I wondered whether he’d actually gotten any sleep at all.
***
Once dinner was finished, Mr. Fisalis went back downstairs to work. The rest of us stayed in the living room to play games together. We played cards, board games, and even some simple puzzles.
Eventually, Mrs. Pashiri joined our game. She sat across from me, and I found myself unable to concentrate. My mind wandered aimlessly, and my concentration slipped several times throughout the evening. It felt like I was playing against an opponent who had already won the match.
Mrs. Pashiri didn’t seem to notice, so she just laughed whenever I made a mistake. At one point during the night, she even commented on how much fun it was watching me lose.
Despite the teasing, I was able to win a few rounds. By the end of the night, we were all exhausted, but none of us wanted to stop playing. So eventually, we decided to call it quits and put everything away.
Since the sun was starting to set by then, most of us headed for bed. I wasn’t sure where to sleep, however, since I still lived alone in the guestroom upstairs. I briefly considered asking someone else to share their bedroom with me, but I ultimately chose to stay there instead.
It was late at night, and I was lying in bed reading a book when I suddenly remembered something.
“Oh, I almost forgot!” I exclaimed, putting down my book and rushing over to the window. I yanked the curtains aside and peeked outside. Sure enough, Mr. Fisalis was standing on top of the wall, looking up at the sky.
He must’ve seen me peeking out the window; I could hear him say, “Goodnight, Princess.”
I quickly pulled the curtain shut and hurried back toward my room. Once I got inside, I closed the door behind me and locked it. Then I walked over to the dresser and grabbed my diary. I flipped through its pages until I came upon the entry about Mr. Fisalis’ visit today, then I wrote:
Today, Mr. Fisalis visited the castle. He said goodnight to me from the wall.
Then I stopped writing. After a brief pause, I added another sentence beneath the first one. This time, I wrote:
But I can’t help thinking…what if he really doesn’t want to see me anymore? What if he only says these things because he knows they’re expected of him…?
I sighed heavily, then placed the book back onto my desk and lay down on my bed. I couldn’t fall asleep right away, so I turned off the light and tried counting sheep instead. But as soon as I started drifting off, I realized I wasn’t going to get very far without my glasses.
So I reached over to grab them from the nightstand next to my pillow. And that’s when I spotted the letter sitting on top of the pile of books I had left there earlier in the day. I picked it up and read it.
Dear Miss Raphtalia,
Thank you for inviting me to spend the afternoon at your house yesterday. You have a lovely family, and I enjoyed spending time with them. Please accept this gift as a token of my appreciation.
Your friend,
Mr. Fisalis
My heart skipped a beat when I read those words.
Why would he send me a present?
Was he trying to make amends after making such a fool of himself last week? Or did he think he owed me something now that he knew I was taking care of his wife? Was it possible he thought I was being too hard on her? Maybe he regretted not telling me what was wrong sooner.
Whatever his reason, I was touched. There was no doubt about it—I liked Mr. Fisalis.
And I was pretty certain he liked me, too.
After all, he hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off me at the festival. I was positive I caught him staring at me more than once.
Plus, I’d noticed him checking me out again tonight while I was waiting for him to come home.
If he kept doing that, maybe he wouldn’t be able to resist coming closer to me. If I was lucky, he might try to kiss me!
As I imagined it happening, I began to feel warm all over. The way I saw it, the two of us spent the entire night together, eating and talking and laughing. I would wake up tomorrow morning and find myself wrapped around him, holding on tight.
That was the dream I was having before I woke up.
***
The following Monday, Mr. Fisalis returned to the main castle. His absence had been felt throughout the castle, especially among the servants. They were happy to see him return, though, and many of them greeted him with smiles and hugs.
When he arrived in the kitchen, I was preparing lunch. Mrs. Pashiri was already busy cooking, and Mr. Fisalis went straight to work helping her.
“How are you feeling?” I asked him as I handed him a bowl of soup.
He smiled and replied, “Better now that I’m back. It feels like I haven’t slept properly in ages.”
“You look tired,” I observed.
He nodded. “Yeah, I suppose I do. Well, I’ll just have to take some naps during the day.”
We chatted for a bit longer, then he took his leave. As he was walking away, Mrs. Pashiri called out to him.
“Faris!” she shouted. “Wait here a second.”
She disappeared into the pantry, returning with three bottles of wine. She set them down on the counter and said, “Here, drink these. You need to replenish your energy.”
“All right, thanks,” he replied.
I watched him pick up each bottle and sniff it carefully. Then he poured a little of the liquid into his mouth.
“Mmm…” he murmured. “It tastes good.”
Mrs. Pashiri clapped her hands happily and said, “Now that I know how much you love these, I’ll stock them for whenever you visit. Thank you, Mr. Fisalis.”
“No problem,” he answered.
Once we heard footsteps approaching, we both turned our attention toward the door.
“Raphtalia, I’ve got to go,” Mr. Fisalis announced. “Thanks for the drinks.”
“Sure thing, sir. See ya later,” I replied.
As he walked away, I could hear him muttering under his breath, “…finally found some decent wine. This stuff is delicious.”
***
Later that evening, I was lying on my bed reading one of the books Mr. Fisalis had given me. He had brought them back from the library today.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I exclaimed when I came across a particularly interesting passage.
A few seconds passed before I realized someone else was standing beside my bed.
“Oh, hey, Mr. Fisalis,” I said.
“Hello, Raphtalia. How are you?” he asked.
“Good, thank you,” I replied.
I sat up and looked at him. “What brings you here?”
“Well, I wanted to talk to you about something,” he explained.
“About what?” I asked.
“You’re going to get mad, but…I want to ask you if you can teach me how to fight,” he said.
“Huh?! What gave it away?!” I cried.
“I mean, you always seem so strong. That’s why I figured you must know a lot about fighting techniques,” he reasoned.
My cheeks flushed red. “Um, well, I don’t really consider myself an expert or anything. But sure, I guess I could give it a shot. Why do you want to learn?”
“Because I promised Filo-tan I’d protect this country, and I’m worried I won’t be able to do that without knowing how to use a sword,” he answered.
“Mr. Fisalis, I think you should focus on learning magic first,” I suggested. “Fighting isn’t exactly easy to master, after all.”
“But I can’t cast spells unless I have mana, right? And that only comes from practicing with a weapon, correct?” he countered.
His argument made sense, but I still didn’t feel comfortable teaching him how to wield a blade.
“Are you sure you want to learn how to fight?” I asked.
“Yes, I am,” he insisted.
There wasn’t any point in arguing with him. “Okay, fine. If you insist, I’ll teach you. But please understand that I’m not a pro at it, either.”
“Thank you very much! I’ll try hard to pay close attention to everything you say,” he replied.
“Uh-huh. Let’s begin by talking about swordsmanship,” I instructed.
“Right.”
After explaining the basics of the art, I showed him a number of different stances and movements. We practiced those until late in the night, then I told him to rest while I prepared dinner.
When I returned to the dining room, I saw Mr. Fisalis sitting there alone, staring intently at the table. The food smelled absolutely delicious—it must have been even more flavorful than usual because of the wine.
“Wow, it smells amazing. Did you make it yourself?” he asked.
“Yep. I hope you like it,” I responded.
“Oh, man, I can already tell it’s gonna taste great. Thanks for making such a wonderful meal.”
He finished eating quickly, as though he hadn’t eaten for days. It seemed he really enjoyed the meal.
“So, um…do you have any plans tonight?” I asked.
“Nope, nothing special planned,” he replied.
“Then would you mind accompanying me to the village tomorrow?” I inquired.
“Of course. Where did you want us to go?” he asked.
“We’re just going to look around. There aren’t many people living there now anyway, so I doubt anyone will see us,” I said.
“Sounds good. Then let’s go together,” he agreed.
The next morning, we headed out early.
“All right, time to head to the village,” I declared.
“Where are you taking me?” Mr. Fisalis asked.
“To meet your family, of course. I thought maybe you might want to introduce me to them,” I said.
“Yeah, yeah, okay…” he mumbled uncomfortably.
It sounded like he was nervous about meeting his relatives again after being gone for so long.
“Don’t worry. They’ve probably forgotten all about you by now,” I reassured him.
And indeed they had. One of Mr. Fisalis’ older sisters greeted us outside their house. She was a bit shorter than him, but she still stood taller than me. Her hair was dark brown, almost black, and her eyes were green.
“Hey, what happened to you? You haven’t come home for ages,” she remarked jokingly.
She laughed heartily at our response. “Hahaha! So, is he coming back soon?”
“No, he’s staying here for a little longer,” I answered.
“Hmm… Well, whatever. Come inside!” she commanded.
Inside, we met another sister, who also lived in the same house. This one was tall and slender, with light blue hair.
“Welcome home, Mr. Fisalis,” she said.
“Thanks, Latifa,” he replied politely.
They both welcomed us warmly into their humble abode. I felt a little awkward when I realized how small it actually was compared to my own mansion.
“You two look pretty serious today,” Latifa commented.
“Well, we’re looking forward to seeing everyone else,” I explained.
“Ahhh, I get it now. Sorry, sorry.”
Latifa apologized profusely, which made me laugh.
“Now, if you’ll excuse us, we need to prepare lunch,” she said.
“Sure thing.”
With that, Mr. Fisalis and I left the house.
“I guess we better start heading toward the village proper,” I said.
“Okay.”
We walked down the road leading away from the Fisalis estate. As we did, I noticed something strange: the sun was setting behind the mountains, but the sky overhead was still bright.
“Huh, it looks like sunset hasn’t even started yet,” I observed.
“That’s weird, right?” Mr. Fisalis added.
As we continued walking along the main street of town, I spotted several people standing in front of the general store. When I got closer, I realized that they were watching a group of men fighting on horseback.
“What’s up with that?” I wondered aloud.
“Looks like some sort of tournament or something,” Mr. Fisalis guessed.
“A tournament? That sounds fun. Maybe we should check it out.”
“Let’s do that,” he agreed.
Mr. Fisalis led the way, and I followed closely behind.
Once we arrived at the center of town, I could hear the crowd cheering. Several people were holding large signs, too.
“There it is!” I exclaimed.
In the middle of the square sat an arena surrounded by stone walls. A wooden fence was set up around it, and the entrance was guarded by a pair of soldiers.
“Are those knights?” I asked.
“Yes, they’re part of the royal guard,” Mr. Fisalis confirmed.
“Cool! Let’s go watch,” I suggested excitedly.
“Wait, wait. I don’t think this is the place for children,” Mr. Fisalis protested.
“But it seems really exciting!” I insisted.
“Yeah, well…we can stay until the end. But then we must leave,” he reasoned.
“Ugh, fine…but hurry!” I told him.
After getting permission from the guards, we entered the arena. It was quite a sight: hundreds of spectators filled the seats lining the wall, while more people lined the field. The fighters were already in position. They looked ready to begin.
“Wow! Look at that! Whoa! What just happened?!” I shouted as the first fight began.
Two knights faced off against each other. Their armor glinted brightly under the sunlight.
“Who won?! Did anyone win?” I yelled.
“Not sure, but I heard someone say ‘the winner is number three!'” Mr. Fisalis called over to me.
“Oh, that’s right! I remember now…”
The name of the victor didn’t matter; I couldn’t take my eyes off the action.
It wasn’t long before the second round of battles commenced.
This time, there were only four knights competing.
“So, who will be next?” I wondered aloud.
“Probably the last knight. He has the most experience and would make sense to send out first,” Mr. Fisalis speculated.
Right after he finished speaking, the fourth contestant stepped onto the battlefield. His armor shone brilliantly in the afternoon sun.
“He’s so handsome!” I gushed.
“Indeed. And he’s very skilled, too,” Mr. Fisalis agreed.
One knight stood out among his peers—he had silver-white hair, and his face was covered in scars.
“Is that Sir Eusèbe?” I asked.
“Yes. Now, let’s see what happens,” Mr. Fisalis said.
Before the match could commence, the announcer took the stage and addressed the audience.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to our tournament! Today, we have a rematch between these two knights, who fought earlier in the day. Please enjoy the show!”
The crowd cheered loudly.
Sir Eusèbe strode confidently across the sand.
“Good luck, Sir Eusèbe!” I wished him.
Then, the referee raised his flag, signaling the beginning of the battle.
“Heeeyyyy!” I hollered. “Fight! Fight!”
“You know, you might actually learn something if you pay attention,” Mr. Fisalis scolded.
“Oops! Sorry!” I apologized.
I watched intently as the knights circled one another.
“Now!” the referee declared.
Suddenly, both warriors charged forward.
“Whoooa!” I screamed.
They clashed swords together, creating sparks.
“Look at them! Aren’t they amazing?!” I marveled.
“Well, yes. But we’ve seen this before today,” Mr. Fisalis pointed out.
“No, no, not like this! This is different!” I argued.
“If you insist…” he conceded.
Both knights’ blades clanged against one another again and again. They moved quickly, dodging and ducking, lunging and thrusting.
“Amazing! So cool!” I cried.
Their speed was incredible. If only I had been able to move that fast when I played sword fights with my friends…
“Hey, look! That guy just got sliced in half!” I exclaimed.
Sure enough, Sir Eusèbe appeared to have lost his left arm.
“What? How did that happen?!” I gasped.
“That’s impossible!” I replied incredulously.
“Maybe he’s using magic or some kind of special skill,” Mr. Fisalis theorized.
“Nooo! Noooooo!” I wailed.
A piece of Sir Eusèbe’s armor flew into the stands.
“Eek! There’s blood on my hand!” I yelped.
“Don’t worry about it. Just wipe your hands clean later,” Mr. Fisalis advised.
“Okay.”
As soon as the bell rang, the referee signaled the end of the match.
“And the winner is—” the announcer started to announce.
“Number seven!” a voice interrupted.
We turned around to find Sir Eusèbe standing behind us.
“How did he do that?!” I gasped.
“Apparently, he can heal himself instantly,” Mr. Fisalis explained.
“Really?! Wow! Is that even possible?” I asked.
“I don’t think so. Maybe he used some sort of potion,” Mr. Fisalis surmised.
“But how does he know which part of his body needs healing? Does he feel pain?” I pondered.
Mr. Fisalis shrugged. “I guess we’ll never know for certain.”
“Wow! Amazing!” I exclaimed.
Sir Eusèbe bowed low. The spectators applauded enthusiastically.
“Congratulations, Sir Eusèbe!” I shouted.
“Thank you. You’re quite the fan,” he replied.
“Of course! I’m a huge fan of yours!” I insisted.
“Ha ha! Thanks. It’s nice to hear,” he smiled.
After the applause died down, the announcer continued.
“Next up: the final match!” he announced.
When I looked over at Mr. Fisalis, I saw that he was already looking ahead to the next bout.
***
The fifth match began.
This time, it was an archer versus a spearman.
“Whoa! He’s really good!” I commented.
“Yes, he certainly is,” Mr. Fisalis nodded.
The archers were circling each other.
“Ready! Aim!” the referee called.
“Fire!”
One of the arrows went flying straight through the air, but the second arrow missed its mark completely.
“Impressive aim!” I remarked.
“It looks like he has a lot more practice than I thought,” Mr. Fisalis agreed.
“Oh, wow! Look at that!” I exclaimed.
The archer had shot the second arrow directly into the heart of the spearman, killing him instantly.
“He’s dead!” I shrieked.
“Looks that way,” Mr. Fisalis confirmed.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
“Wow! What a surprise ending!” I said.
“Yeah, pretty impressive. I wonder who will win next,” Mr. Fisalis mused.
“Hmm. Let me see…” I murmured.
At last, I decided. “I bet it’s going to be number six!”
“Why?” Mr. Fisalis wondered.
“Because she’s amazing!” I exclaimed.
“She is true,” he concurred.
“Come on! Show them what you’ve got!” the announcer urged.
Number six stepped forward. She was wearing her usual outfit—the black dress with red accents.
“Ready! Fire!” the referee called.
“Aim!”
“Fire!”
Her first arrow hit right between the eyes of the opposing knight, knocking him unconscious.
“Whoo hooo! Number six won!” I cheered.
“Indeed. And now, let’s enjoy the next fight!” Mr. Fisalis encouraged.
“All right!” I agreed.
The sixth match ended without incident and the seventh one commenced.
This time, it was a swordsman versus a mage.
“Whoa! This is intense!” I exclaimed.
“It sure is,” Mr. Fisalis nodded.
The two fighters circled each other warily.
“Ready! Fire!”
“Aim!”
They both fired their weapons simultaneously.
“Holy smokes! They actually hit each other!” I gasped.
“That’s because they’re using magic. But it doesn’t look like either one of them is injured,” Mr. Fisalis observed.
“Huh… I didn’t realize that,” I admitted.
Both combatants attacked again.
“Here goes nothing!” the swordsman cried.
His sword sliced through the air, narrowly missing the mage.
“Ouch!” the mage groaned.
“You okay?” the swordsman asked.
“Y-yes. Thank you!” the mage responded.
“Good job! Now get back out there before someone else takes your spot!” the announcer advised.
“Right away!” the mage replied.
The eighth match started, and this time it was a warrior versus a cleric.
“What are those guys doing?!” I exclaimed.
“Well, they’re not fighting. Not yet anyway,” Mr. Fisalis answered.
“Not fighting? How come?” I questioned.
“Those aren’t real fights. They’re just practicing,” he explained.
“Practice? For what?” I wondered aloud.
“For the tournament tomorrow.”
“Ohhh. That makes sense! So they can learn how to use their powers properly so as to avoid any accidents during the actual matches,” I concluded.
“Exactly. Good thinking!” he praised.
“Thanks. I try my best!” I laughed.
The ninth match was starting.
This time, it was a swordsman versus a hunter.
“Whoa! This guy is really strong!” I said.
“Aye. Just watch,” Mr. Fisalis assured me.
The swordsman swung his weapon around and cut down several trees, then continued on until he reached a riverbank. There, he stopped and waited for the hunter to approach.
“C’mon! Come get some!” the swordsman taunted.
“Okay, I’ll bite!” the hunter retorted.
“Hahaha! You should have seen yourself when you were younger!” the swordsman chuckled.
“Ha ha! Yeah, I guess I did!” the hunter agreed.
“Now, show us what you’ve got!” the swordsman demanded.
“Alright! Here we go!” the hunter shouted.
He charged toward the swordsman, swinging his axe left and right, trying to catch him off guard. The swordsman easily dodged each attack. He blocked the axe with his own blade, then countered by slicing it cleanly in half.
The End