A love story

Nelson had checked the entire first floor without success. When he decided to go for the next level he immediately felt dumb for not having thought earlier to inspect their own room first. He quickly went up the stairs, ran through the hallway, and hastily pushed the door. Inside, the room was completely dark, which meant that she did purposely turn off all the lights while holding the sunlight to enter in through the windows by pulling the curtains.

He palpated the wall on his left and took a few seconds before he finally found the switch to switch on the light. As the room was now enlightened, he easily found Sania at the first glance.

She was sitting on the floor on the opposite side, her back leaning on the corner while hiding her face in her arms. He approached her slowly and after firstly standing in front of her wondering if it would appropriate for him to go further, he went to sit just beside her. He took a look at her and as to provoke her to react he sighed longingly and loudly.

" What do you want? " Sania finally said, her voice was lessened as if she was speaking through a piece of clothing. " If you came to make fun of me you better get out, I'm very dangerous when I'm sad ".

" Ah, " Nelson exclaimed, playing the surprised man. " I didn't know, for which reason would you be sad? "

She suddenly raised her head to look at him. The face she showed him was indeed the face of someone in grief. She was red and tears could be seen going down her cheeks, her eyes were inflated a little and her lips were dry. Looking at her Nelson couldn't determine whether she was upset or just depressed. " I have just been humiliated in front of everybody, " she said with a cracked and raspy voice.

" So you should feel embarrassed instead of being sad, " he replied, " and I thought you were an experienced seducer ". He waved his hand toward the opened door, " this, must not be the first time you've been rejected by a man, am I wrong? So why would you feel so hurt? "

" You don't understand anything, " she spat, annoyed.

" Then explain me ". Nelson crossed his arms without taking off his sight from the young woman, " what makes Glenn so fantastic that the only fact that he rejected you for another woman bothers you this much? "

When she sniffed, Nelson quickly took out a tissue from his pocket and handed it to her, after a short moment of hesitation, as she still couldn't figure out why would he act so kindly from time to time toward her, before she finally accepted it. Sania cleaned her nose which became redder than before and said, " why would I share it with you? I know you for only quite a short time, we're not that close ".

" Yeah maybe, " he acknowledged while shrugging, " but you confessed to being hurt and you have no one else, right now, to lean on. So why not using me to express your pain and sorrow ".

She considered him for a moment, observing his face with great attention, and then finally agreed. Sania thought that, at that point, it couldn't be even worse so she could drop her guard a little bit with him. She slowly let her body fall toward him to lean on him before she gently landed her head on his shoulder while crossing her arms around her legs.

At that moment, Nelson understood the great effort she put to reveal to him the weak side of her personality despite all the pride she had. She was no more wearing her disguise of the provocative woman who always looked down on others, now, she was just simply Sania whose heart had just been broken. She was completely defenseless.

" The thing is not because it was Glenn who rejected me, the truth is that I know he's just one handsome guy among many others. But the real problem is that it's one failure too many and I couldn't bear it anymore. Once again, I have been rejected for someone else, " she sighed depressingly, letting out her emotions as there was no need to continue to act tough. " I don't know if it is a curse or something but I noticed that all the men I have approached and wanted to be with, happened to already have found their soulmate. From Brad who was already going out with Daphne to Donald who told me that he was already in love with someone else when I asked him and apparently this someone happened to be Volga, Jamal with her very... friendly girlfriend and now Glenn who is already married with... I don't remember her name ". Sania grumbled while shaking her head, " all those things together make me feel upset ".

" Among the army, there are many handsome young men who are interested in you, why don't you choose one them? " Nelson closed his eyes trying to remember something, " Oh Yeah! There is this guy from your hometown army, " he then exclaimed, " Carl, if I'm not wrong. He must be the one most interested in you, whenever I see him he is always staring at you ".

She rolled up her eyes with an expression of disgust, " please not him, he is just a pervert who convinced almost all the women of our army to sleep with him, I'm just his new target. Like all the guys of the army you've mentioned, by the way, they all want me on their beds and nothing else ".

" Doesn't it what you are seeking? " he directly replied with a bit of confusion in his voice, " to have sex with handsome men? That's why you're frustrated, isn't it? Because those guys didn't fall for, what you call, the body of a goddess of yours? "

She suddenly sat up, turned her head to glare at him, while looking offended. " Why are you looking at me like that? " Nelson asked without even gazing at her.

She tilted her head while frowning her eyebrows, looking even more irritated, " you know, I hate this part of you. You purposely insult people, and then you act as nothing happened ". Nelson raised an eyebrow interrogatively, which made raising her tone " don't act as if you didn't treat me as a... "

" 'As a' what? " he cut her. He turned his head to face her at his turn, " As a whore? Doesn't it the image you attribute to yourself? Always showing off your 'perfect shaped' body, always trying to attract the eyes of all the men around you while enjoying making all the women feel jealous of you. You're right, we don't know each other very well, but 'that'... is the side of you you've shown me, so don't act like the one who is shocked when you see me treating you like the slut you're pretending to be ".

It seemed like those words hit her deep in her heart as she was speechless what was unusual for her because as far as Nelson could remember, she always had something to retort. She suddenly became silent and slowly took back the position she had before with her head on Nelson's shoulder.

As she stayed very quiet he supposed that she was, maybe, meditating as she had even closed her eyes.

A moment later, Sania finally cut the line of her thoughts. With a very calm and sweet voice, she asked " am I really such a horrible person? "

Nelson stared at her, from the side, for a short moment before responding, " who knows? But let me ask you something. Did you ever wonder why in the army, when they are you, my subordinates, who just recently met you, just play their roles of soldiers but never try to befriend you? "

Sania hid her face in her hands, " I can't believe it, they all hate me, and now they must be laughing at me after what happened ".

Nelson didn't add any comment.

The two of them had been sitting there silent for many minutes before she asked him, still with a low voice " it's a little bit weird but I'm wondering, don't you hate me like the others? I mean, Why are you suddenly so nice to me? "

" Do you think it is sudden? If only you paid more attention to what happens around you, you would have seen that I'm always this way. It is my duty to take of my stu... my comrades, I just play my role of the harsh leader when it is needed. A dear friend of mine once told me that kindness must be the first thing people must share ". He gently pushed his head back toward the wall behind him and started gazing up.

" Seems like I have many defaults in my attitude I have to correct, " she yawned loudly and said with a sleepy voice. " I heard that there is a great feast organized, it may even begin in few moments, I'm okay now so you can leave me here and go enjoy it with everyone? "

" Don't worry. Sleep. I will wait here until you wake up, " Nelson replied while arranging her posture so it would be more comfortable for Sania. The latter mumbled a 'thank you' before falling asleep.

•••

" Shouldn't someone go call them it's been a long they are up there? " Volga suggested while staring up at the windows of the house as if she was waiting for someone to open.

She was in front of Jamal and Carla. After the declaration of Ilya, the people in their euphoria lifted the couple and went to install them on honorific places in the center of the court, and until now, the two of them were still surrounded by many people who didn't quit questioning them about their union, " for how long are you together? "," how did you first meet? "," why did you keep it secret?" etc.

Meanwhile, Jamal, Carla, and Volga returned to their place to get a calm discussion before the feast.

Carla jumped out of her chair and declared " I will go up to call them, " she wanted to run toward the house but Jamal stopped her, " wait! "

But the woman was insisted so much that he had to stand up and hold her.

" Why? " she asked surprised.

" Because... it's may not be the moment for that " Jamal articulated while doing her best to indirectly make her understand the current situation without revealing too much.

" What do you mean? "

Jamal directed his sight on Volga, hoping that she could help him. The latter immediately understood as she intervened in the discussion and told her. " You see, Sania has just been rejected in front of everybody, she must be hurt and Nelson may be trying to comfort her so you understand that it's not the moment to disturb ".

" Why Nelson would do that for her? She is not one of his soldiers, she's not from Montclay so why would he care if she got her heart broken? "

Volga and Jamal glanced at each other, embarrassed while discussing soundlessly the most appropriate answer to give.

" huh... you see... "

" You see, Sania has been promoted captain, so as her fellow captain Nelson may think that it's his duty to ensure that she is alright so that she won't affect the well going of our next missions " Volga completed.

Jamal nodded, impressed by Volga's talent of improvisation, before he got carried on, " yeah, that's true, Sania is a very valuable member, very dependable on the battlefield, we can't afford to not have her in 100% of her capacity ".

Carla stared at them suspiciously but finally agreed to listen to them and took back her seat.

At the same time on the other side, Glenn stood up to declare that the banquet was finally set and that all people should follow him. He guided them back to the huge hall he had welcomed them in the first day they arrived, and it was almost the same scenery at the difference that they had hung some few decorations on the walls and the dishes set on the tables looked more delicious.

When Jamal and Volga wanted to go sit at the places they had taken the day before, a man came to tell them that Glenn had already attributed them seats elsewhere. The man guided the three of them to the table the most afar from the center of the hall and there, they found Palet's mayor sitting beside his wife Ilya, who had a hand passed around his arm and while holding him tightly. They both had large smiles brightening their faces and seeing all this happiness surrounding them, Jamal felt automatically happy too.

" Look at this splendid picture, " Volga said as they were approaching, " they look so cute ".

Glenn stood up to greet them. " Thank you very much, " he said while shaking their hands one by one, and with a movement of the hand, he invited them to have a seat.

" I'm very happy for you, " Carla came to tell Ilya before she went to her place beside Jamal.

" Me too ". Volga was sitting at the place on her left, just beside, " even though I'm still surprised that you're actually the wife of the mayor. Now I understand why Jamal told you to team up with me during the mission, " she turned the head toward him, " Glenn told you to protect her but as you couldn't do that and fight at the same time, you gave me the job, right? "

Jamal shrugged, " Yes you're right. I have to say Glenn has insisted very much on that and besides me, you were the only one capable of properly protecting her ".

" And I'm really grateful for that, " the mayor said to Volga, " sincerely, thank you for having preserved her life, it's was her first real battle so I was afraid that an accident could happen ".

She waved her hand lazily as she replied, " no need, it was all-natural, moreover, looking at this all... " she pointed to all the good food served on the table " ... you have thanked us enough ".

Ilya chuckled, " he didn't stop saying that it was not enough ".

" And I'm right regarding how selfish we have been, but for the time being, I can't do more but serving you good food, " he replied, a little embarrassed, " but please, you can start eating ".

Jamal took a look at the other tables and it seemed that they didn't wait for them. Before he touched the food in front of him he suddenly remembered. " I have a favor to ask you. Our two friends are still upstairs, can you ask someone to conserve their plates until they come? " he asked the mayor sitting on his right.

Glenn swallowed what he had in his mouth before he nodded " naturally ". He raised his hand and a young girl came to their table, she leaned toward him and after he whispered something, she nodded and went out, later, Jamal saw her holding a plate on each of her hands while walking toward the exit of the hall. He supposed that she was directly bringing their food to them, which, he thought, was a better idea than letting it on the table until they come down to eat.

" By the way, I wanted to use this moment to apologize on the behalf of my colleague, " Volga said while referring to Sania.

" No need, it didn't bother me, " Glenn waved his hand, " to say the truth she is not the first one to do that, I have lived many situations like that ".

" What do you mean? " Carla dared to ask.

" He was a very well known person, even before the great disaster, and besides being handsome he was the owner of a huge fortune, so many women used to try seducing him and since he is very shy and polite, I was the one who had to always fly to his rescue and turn them down on his behalf, " Ilya responded.

" For real?! It seems like you know each other for a long ago, can I ask you for how long have you been married and why did you make it so secret? " Carla interrogated them again.

The couple glanced at each other before responding, " for 7 years now, " in the same voice.

Glenn carried on, " as I have probably told you, I'm the son of a very rich family and so being one of the heirs of its wealth, I had duties to fulfill and one of those was to marry a woman who belonged to the same social class as me as my parents wanted. But instead, I met Ilya, she used to be the accountant who was managing the financial aspect of our family's company and even the personal wealth of my parents and my siblings ".

" Not yours? " Volga wanted to highlight.

" Yes, he estimates that a man has the responsibility to manage his own wealth as well as of the family he is in charge of, " Ilya responded with a funny tone.

He pushed her jokingly and continued, " her job made that she was spending many times in our home and in our company, which offered me the occasion to see her very often. It's started by simple 'hello' whenever we would run into each other, it changed to some short words, then we started to have discussions until we ended up falling for each other. I will pass on the detail of what led me to fall in love with her, but the thing is that we later started going out. I remember that we were dating for a month when we went to visit her family and her mother surprisingly suggested us to get married ".

" I directly said no. Explaining that we still don't know each other very well, " she smiled nostalgically, " but then she told me something which ended up convincing me, she said 'you know the reason why nowadays few marriages last long? It is because of that, people start by going out for 4 5 years, trying every day to show to their partners the best of themselves and after they finally cross the path to get married what happens? They get tired of acting and reveal their true faces, the partners get shocked, they don't recognize anymore the person whom they were in love and 2 years later they break up'. She said that people nowadays take too much their time trying to know each and they end up losing the passion once they do ".

" But the contrary can also happen, " Carla remarked.

She chuckled, " that is exactly what Glenn responded to her, and then she said... "

" 'it will happen only if you let it happen' " he cut her, with the same nostalgic smile as her wife, and then he completed while trying to imitate the voice of Ilya's mother, " she said 'understand me well, when I'm saying that you should get married it is not foolishly, a marriage must be the anchor of your union which will hold you to break up, by getting married you will expose your true identity to each other, no place to lie and so it will be your duty to understand each other and accept yourselves as you are, that is one of my secrets for a successful union' ".

" Woah, that is so beautiful," Carla said with admiration, " it's looking like one of the things my grandma would have been capable to tell me, " she added with a little voice barely audible.

The three people meditated on those words before the young woman begged them timidly to finish their story.

" That night we stayed for hours thinking about it before we finally made up our minds and the next day we finally got married ".

The three of them were so stunned that Ilya couldn't hold herself to laugh. " Wait! You just did like that? I mean... without preparing a proper wedding ceremony, with flowers, a white elegant dress, a huge cake and all those stuff every woman dreams to have in her marriage? " Volga excitedly asked Ilya who responded with an enigmatic smile, making Volga look even more surprised, " No, you couldn't get all those things in only one night ".

" Things can become so easy and quick when you are about to marry a very rich man, " she replied jokingly.

" Alright, you get married and then? " Carla insisted.

" As I have told you, my family wanted me to marry a person with the social class as me, so they would have been totally in opposition for me marrying Ilya, and since we didn't want to break the relationship with my family as it would have caused big repercussions, especially for Ilya regarding her job, we decided to keep it secret. What was quite easy my family didn't pay attention to my personal life. For five years, we lived a peaceful life, where we were living together, there happened many things but it was still good until came the tragedy of two years ago. After that 'night' things started to take a wrong turn and it was my duty, as the mayor, to respond quickly to those events. We decided that it was still not the right moment to make our relationship public, so we've kept pushing that moment until today, " he held Ilya's hand and smiled at her, " until today she finally agreed to make it official ".

In the hall, all the people started to applaud. Cheerful screams and acclamation invaded the room, here and there, people were shouting some congratulations to the couple. Until that moment, they didn't realize that around them, everyone was careful listening to their story, they started to feel embarrassed.

The rest of the feast went happily and until the end, they kept that joyful ambiance.

Jamal was the first to stand up, he explained to his hosts that they had to go to sleep, as they had to wake up very early on the next morning. Then he turned to his fellow soldiers and told them that the party was over, " those of you who chose to continue the fight may follow us to have some rest until tomorrow, we shall leave before dawn. Those who chose to quit, we are thanking you for your hard work and hope you will go back safely ".

Then Volga stood up to lead the crowd, almost the entire hall stood up to leave, those remaining were only Glenn's town's people. What was very positive, Jamal thought.

He then turned again to the latter and to call him out, " please follow me, we have one last thing to discuss with you before I go to bed, it's concerning the goods we have collected from Finn and Brett's houses ". The mayor understood, nodded, and accompanied by his wife they followed him out of the feast room.

•••

When he returned to his room, Jamal found empty plates left in a corner what meant that Nelson and Sania already ate. They were all already on their beds, sleeping quietly. He reached his bed and closed his eyes preparing himself mentally for their next mission in the last city.