A Bond

Shivers went up Xilo's spine the more Landel talked about his set up he had planned. When it got to the end though the shivers had disappeared entirely and instead were replaced by laughter. "That's it?" To him that sounded like the easiest challenge in the world. He clearly wanted to get them to separate and stop working together, that was apparent. "Does he really think lexia will betray us?" Clearly Landel didn't know Lexia that well after all. "So much for spending years together married." Looks like all that time had gone to waste if that was what Landel thought.

"Are you really betting your life on such a foolish gamble?"

Xilo couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"This is no foolish gamble Xilo. I admire the confidence but don't get ahead of yourself. You have to wait until you hear Lexia's reply before you can do such things and right now she has gone totally silent. I wonder what that means for us?"

Falling silent Xilo looked at Lexia from the corner of his eye.

"This is an easy decis....ion...?"

She had gone silent and wasn't even looking at him anymore. Her focus had left this Castle and gone to another world as she replayed Landel's words in her head. "Landel's life, so easily." All she had to do was give up a couple of people and then Landel would be dead without any trouble. It was perfect to her to the point she didn't believe Landel would keep his part of the deal. "No, Trading lives is wrong." Snapping out of her trance Lexia knew that what she was thinking was horrible. SHe just couldn't stop herself from resisting the urge to agree with Landel.

"Not as easy as you thought it'd be right? How does it feel Xilo? Worried? Suffering? Scared? I know Lexia far better then you and that's why I set this up with her in mind. Lexia can't beat me in a fair fight ever, so her only chance is taking down your friend's life along with mine. All she has to do is say yes and she's won."

Gripping his hands tight, Xilo couldn't make a move, no matter how badly he wanted to punch Landel right in the face.

"Are you insane, what if she actually says yes. Are you really that willing to give up your life for something so...stupid as this?"

Clapping his hands together, Landel was glad Xilo asked.

"Of course, This war will be fought with or without me regardless. So why would I care if I die? Victory will be achieved."

"You'll lose this war if you die!"

"Will we?"

Xilo felt himself losing it as Landel kept shooting down every single thing he said. Lexia still hadn't said a thing as well, making everything a whole lot worse. "Lexia please!" Xilo couldn't believe he was actually starting to doubt Lexia to the point he found himself shouting out at her. Anything to grab her attention, he couldn't lose Tearia or anyone else over this. Nothing he did worked, Lexia was completely ignoring him. "Is she really going to say yes?" Xilo's heartbeat was accelerating with each passing moment. "No, don't think like that." Pushing those horrible thoughts away, he knew he had to trust her.

"Hey Xilo, I wonder how long you've known Lexia for? Less than a month, right? Are you really worth that much to someone in that small amount of time to be able to close the gap between their life goal and your friends lives?"

"A month, week, day or even an hour! It doesn't matter how much time you spend together with someone. It's all the same when you create a bond with them."

Xilo felt his knees give up beneath him, his energy was being sapped from all of the stress.

"Revenge and hatred are far stronger than that."

Xilo didn't want to believe Landel for a second yet he wasn't given much of a choice. Lexia had let a couple pass and hadn't said anything yet. The suspense was killing Xilo just as much as the answer would. "How?" He had thought when he peeked into her memories that he understood Lexia well. "It looks like I was wrong." He had decided to trust her then and now it was coming to bite him in the butt. "I guess I deserve it for invading her privacy." The girls beside him were equally distraught as they let the fate of their friends rest in lexia's unmoving hands.

Landel stood in place as he watched everyone in front of him fall into despair. This is exactly what he had wanted to see. Two people that "trusted" each other and then tear them apart from the roots. His life was more then worth it for this kind of thing. It filled him with immense joy watching Xilo struggle to understand what was happening before his eyes.

"How does it feel Xilo, to be betrayed by someone you once thought of as a friend. Where's the bond that you so desperately clinged to now? Absolutely worthless. The only thing that matters in this world is strength. If you were stronger then me then you could simply just put a stop to this without a single question. Instead you're weak and can only bend to the whim of others. A fate some would say is worse then death."

"Bastard?"

"What did you say? I couldn't hear you over the tears in your eyes."

Wiping any the tears that were forming quickly, Xilo couldn't do a thing. "How do I stop this situation?" His mind finally began to think about things logically. Landel was giving him plenty of time to act, while he might not be stronger he could outsmart him. All he had to do was break the cage and free everyone, then this game would no longer be valid. If he could do it before Lexia's choice then just maybe he could save them. Being forced into a standstill wasn't something Xilo could just roll over and accept.

"How though?"