The King's Beloved

~ [Music Recommendation: "Dearly Beloved" by Yōko Shimomura (Orchestra version by Hikari) - available in Youtube] ~ Please listen to it in loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this chapter T_T ~ 

While Elliot was busy practicing his new power, Luna helped restore the part of the forest that he accidentally destroyed, much to her dismay.

"Can't you be a little gentler?" Luna shouted at Elliot. "The poor forest is suffering! Oh, my poor trees and shrubs and bushes and flowers … sniff … sniff".

"Sorry for that, I'll help you restore them later," Elliot apologized and continued his training.

On the other hand, Rania grabbed Ducis and took him to an isolated place. Obviously, there was something she wanted to discuss.

"Why do I keep getting called out?" Ducis thought in his mind. "Am I a diary of secrets now? Sigh …"

"Ducis, I need your help on something," Rania confessed. 

"I figured," Ducis shrugged. "What is it?"

"I want to learn how to use the sword, too!" Rania replied with conviction in her eyes.

Ducis' eyes widened, in doubt if he heard it right. 

"Did you just say … sword?" Ducis raised his eyebrows.

Rania nodded. "Yes! Sword, or maybe other weapons that don't require magic. I thought it might be useful someday, you know, like when we were in Pius Village and we couldn't use magic. I barely did anything to help in the fight … so I thought maybe if I know how -"

" - No," Ducis refused profusely. A hint of vexation sprang forth from his voice. "You don't know what you're asking. You can't wield a sword unless you have the guts to kill someone. If you think you can simply use it to defend yourself or the people around you, you're very wrong. The enemy will always have the intent to kill - it's either be killed or not - that's what a battle is about. If you're too soft, you will just end up dying". 

Ducis was very strict with his words. But they weren't empty words - those were words of truth. When a sword, or any weapon, was raised, it's either your blood, or the enemies', that would be spilled. 

Rania lowered her eyes. It didn't take long for her to understand the gravity of what Ducis just said. 

"For situations where you can't use magic, we're here, so we can help out. Don't let your hands be dirtied by blood when it's unnecessary. The weight of killing a person is not something to be taken lightly," Ducis' voice turned mellow, as if pleading. "And trust in the Supreme always! He didn't give you a sword to fight. He gave you holy energy instead, and from Elliot, life energy that produced spiritual energy. You have all three forms of energy, so use those instead. Trust that you have everything you need".

With knitted brows, Rania smiled at Ducis.

"I see. I'm very sorry for asking such a thing".

"It's alright. Just don't tell this to Elliot - and don't ask him to teach you instead".

Rania chuckled. "Yes, I won't. I … I just wanted to be of more help. 

"You seem to be underestimating yourself," Ducis smiled. "Help doesn't always come in the form of aids in battle. All the things you've done for us, especially for Elliot, if that's not help, I don't know what to call it".

"Pft! I guess you're right".

"And besides …," now Ducis' face turned sullen. He looked at Rania with great sadness in his eyes. "I know … what you're destined to do".

A strong gust of wind blew by …

Blowing the tears that suddenly fell from Rania's eyes …

Scattering them in the air, like tiny shimmering lights ...

Though covered with heartache, Rania still smiled back to Ducis.

"So you knew. That's good then. In that case, I'll need you to do me a little favor … once my destiny has been fulfilled".

Ducis also hid his heartache in a smile.

"Of course, anything for my King's Beloved".

Rania breathed deeply and wiped her tears. 

And with a genuinely smiling face, she told him:

"Make sure to make him smile for me, okay?" tears escaped her eyes.

Ducis' heart stinged with great pain. He clenched his fist tight and gritted his teeth. But despite the pain, he, too, smiled back at her. He bent his knees and knelt down like a knight in front of Rania.

"As you wish, oh Great Vessel. I will do my best".

"Thank you".

Ducis shook his head. "No … Thank 'YOU' … very much". 

They looked in each other's eyes with bitter joy.

In his mind he asked himself, "Most High … why must the maiden and the vessel be the same person? How will the king have his queen if the vessel is meant to be broken? … Is this truly how it's supposed to be?" 

Night came, and morning came, the team woke up and set forth to Anguis Solum, and unto the fifth gate that was made of sand. Upon entering the black hole, they were welcomed by a vast desert - from their position up to the horizon, everywhere was filled with sand - nothing else could be found on sight.

A few minutes after, a sandstorm came rushing to them. Elliot quickly set up a barrier at the stomp of his feet to protect them. When the sandstorm reached them, it suddenly died down, and from it, fell a young looking man, with light brown hair and golden eyes. He wore a tabard like Terra, only his' was white, with golden designs at the ends. Underneath it, he wore a black shirt and pants, paired with brown boots. 

"Why hello there, everyone!" the young man greeted them as he descended from the air. "Welcome to my abode - the Desert of Saburra!"

Everyone was a bit shocked by the warm welcome. They've only gotten weird welcomes so far from the previous gates they travelled. This was an entirely breath of fresh air for them.

"Hi," everyone greeted him in unison.

"He-he-he! No need to be reserved! I'm Saburra, the Guardian of this realm," he introduced himself. "You must have heard from my sister that you already passed my trial, so don't worry, nothing else will happen here. Come with me! I'll take you to my temple".

Then, Saburra transformed himself into a Giant Sphinx, with the head of a cat, body of a lion, and wings of an eagle. 

"Come on, hop on! It will be fun! We'll fly in the sky!" Saburra knelt down so they could hop on his back.

"He's a cheerful one," Luna commented.

"Yes, he is," Rania chuckled.

And so, they rode on his back and Saburra flew high in the sky. A few minutes later, they arrived at his temple - a giant pyramid made of sand. Upon arriving, Saburra returned to a young man and guided them inside after Luna unlocked the door. The words on the door said:

"It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."

"Hmm ...," Luna thought. "This looks like an incomplete one."

"I'd have to agree with that," Elliot seconded. "There must be some words before it. Maybe we'll find it in the other guardian's temples".

Like the previous temples, the team went into the innermost part where a big crystal resided. This time, it was light brown, like the color of Saburra's hair. They walked near the crystal and finally, Saburra gave his blessings to Elliot.

"My name is Saburra,

And I am the Fifth Gate.

As the Guardian of Sand,

In my heart, shines Mercy.

Thou hast been tested,

And evil, I found nought.

Therefore, thou shalt receiveth mine blessings.

I shalt be with thou,

And thou shalt be with me".

After giving his blessings, his body glowed and fused with the crystal, which in turn, resided on the handle of Elliot's Zweihänder. Another power had been added to his already massive collection.

Not wasting anymore time, they went back to the Forbidden Chamber so Elliot could use the remaining time to practice the new power. It was still morning when they came back so they agreed to take a few minutes break before going to the Forbidden Forest to practice. Rania and Luna prepared some tea to welcome their new member, along with the other guardians who resided in Elliot's crystal.

Nothing really escapes Elliot's eyes when it comes to Rania. While they were having tea, or coffee for some, he noticed that her smiles were a bit forced, and her eyes, though very faintly, were red. He tried enjoying their break but his worry just grew worse as minutes passed by. So, when everyone settled, he turned to Rania, who was sitting beside him, and whispered to her ears.

"Rania, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Rania jolted and involuntarily looked towards Elliot's direction. Now, their faces were but an inch apart. Their eyes widened and flushed red. Immediately, they turned their heads in the other direction.

"Ahm … sure, what is it?" Rania replied, still not looking back at Elliot.

Elliot scratched his cheeks. "Can we go outside first?"

"Huh? Outside?" Rania was shocked.

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