Fate's answer

The time, it went by so quickly, but, she never had a chance to confess.

The first time they met, the time when she was bullied, was she thought at first was the worst time of her life. But, everything changed, when he came. The memories of that time, she never remembered, but the beating of her heart, never steadied. It has been always so fast, so quick to beat, whenever he was around.

They both turned eight. She celebrated his birthday at his house. His small but lively house. She never always had a knack on talking with other people, but, with his family, she never felt alone, disattached, unwanted.

With him, she was always happy...

With him, she always felt safe...

With him, she felt, loved...

They both turned nine, and they both became a lot more closer, compared to last year, which made her heart hurt even more.

"Why can't I confess" "Why am I on his side, even when I always just bring him down?". She always thought this to herself, and it made her ache everytime she do so. Being incompetent at home and at school. If it wasn't for him, she might've already died.

She was always the center point of anger of her parents.

Always getting scolded at...

Always getting compared to others...

Always feeling inferior...

Why can't this line of thought stop?

They both turned ten. Things just got worst. She was always getting bullied at school. Unable to relay any emotion, due to many things her parents did to her, she always had that cold stare. Either she was hated or being feared by others.

Whenever she got closer, they stay away.

Whenever she helps, she got shouted at of many names. Creepy. Weird. Ice queen. Rocky. Malicious. Monster. Beast.

The names never really stopped. The bullying never really stopped. But because of him, being at her side whenever she needed, wherever she was, he was always there, to protect her.

Countless girls has always wanted to claim his heart, his love, but no one could. He always gave them a subtle reply of "Sorry, I already have someone I love", which made her thought of who was that lucky girl, getting the love of a one of a kind guy.

Some even bullied her, tried to make her stay away from him, making her keep distance as so all his attention would be poured to them. But, still, he always stayed at her side, no matter what. No matter how many times she distance herself away, he always closes that gap. Whenever she never talks and stays silent for long periods of time, whenever she always stare at the endless sky, her cold gaze, he never fails to break that wall between them.

If it wasn't for her parents...

If it wasn't for her hair and eye color...

If just maybe, she was born different...

Then maybe, they could've stayed together...

But she guess that's impossible. As no one really loved her. "Everything in this world is fake" She thought to herself.

Her parents were always angry at her. She was an only child, but she hoped she wasn't. Maybe then she won't feel this lonely, battling the world, trying to live for the sake of that one boy, as maybe killing herself, can be a blessing for her, but tremendous pain for the other.

They both turned eleven. Their last year as classmates and friends. He always invites her to play at his house whenever she was free, and they would always enjoy ones company of the other. Except that one time.

That one night, before her chastity was stolen from her by a guy she never knew, she was saved by him. His eyes, his dark blue eyes, radiating in anger, as if saying "Don't ever touch the one I loved", or so she thought. But, not everything has a happy ending, like the fairy tails in the stories she once read. Not everyone can have their knight in shining armor, their beloved prince. She was just happy by a far, but was very guilty, as she thought she was using him as a shield against everything. As always, she tried to distance herself away, the boy tried but nevertheless failed to close the gap this time. The only time he ever failed.

She stayed away from him, guilty of using him as a shield for the past four years.

As she was about to go home from school, she was grabbed in a nearby tree.

"Maybe this is it, the punishment of her sins" She thought to herself, finally accepting whatever came at her, thinking that this might be her redemption at everything she has done to the boy.

Just about she was to surrender to the one who forced her...

"Why!" He shouted, trying hard not to cry. "What did I do wrong, and I'll fix it myself" He paused, his tears trickling slowly at his cheeks. "So, please, tell me" He tightened his grip to hers "What did I do wrong?".

"Wait what?" She thought to herself, confused by the sudden reaction of her best friend, the one she tried to stay away too, the one who always protected her, the one who was always there, now crying in front of her.

What she thought was a strong boy, now crying in front of her, begging of what he did wrong. Her shoulders still feeling the pain of his tightened grip, saying the he will never let her go until she speaks to him.

"You did nothing wrong" She stared down, the bushes at her legs, feeling the sturdiness and uncomfortableness of the tree bark at her back, the ragged ground at her feet.

"Then why" he asked. "Why did you left? Why did you distanced yourself away?"

"Because I felt guilty, using you all this time!" She shouted, the words echoing at the forest.

"I FELT GUILTY YOU ALWAYS PROTECTING ME, YOU, ALWAYS BEING THERE WHENEVER I NEEDED YOU, WHILE ME, I JUST STOOD WHILE YOU GOT HURT, STOOD WHILE OTHERS HATED YOU. I AM NOTHING TO MY PARENTS, TO MY EYES, WHILE YOU SEE MY AS THIS PRECIOUS GEM..."

"CAUSE YOU ARE!" He shouted, making her stop whatever she was saying. Her whole body stiffened, not knowing what to think or what to do. Her face blushed and embarrassed. Speechless. No words came at her mouth even if she tried to. Her throat, parched and sore by all the shouting she did. Her body midly shakened by his reply, his counter attack. He continued.

"You always were my precious gem. You always, and will be, the one who would I protect". He deeply inhaled, then exhaled, readying himself for the coming reply of the girl he cherished the most, whatever her answer is, he will accept it, no matter what it is.

"I LOVE YOU, ALICIA!"

"I'VE ALWAYS LOVED YOUR EYES, YOUR HAIR, THE WAY YOU LAUGH, YOUR SMILE, EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU!"

"I'VE ALWAYS LOVED HOW YOU WERE STRONG, HOW YOU ALWAYS FACED THE PROBLEMS IN FRONT OF YOU, WHICH GAVE ME THE DESIRE TO PROTECT YOU EVEN MORE"

"Idiot" She whispered. Feeling the burn of her face even more.

"I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED HOW YOU NEVER CRIED, AMIDST EVERY PROBLEM YOU EVER FACED, AS TO WHY I WOULD ALWAYS BE BY YOUR SIDE"

"Please, stop" She whispered, trying to hold back the tears.

"EVEN IF YOU DON'T LOVE ME BACK" He wiped the tears down his eyes "I'LL ALWAYS BE THERE BY YOUR SIDE. JUST PLEASE, DON'T LEAVE"

He cried, never has she seen him cry this much for something, as he always wore that idiotic, infectious smile plastered on his face. Never had she thought before that the guy who was always by her side has a weak spot on his heart, and her mind couldn't believe it in fact, that it was her.

"I'm sorry" She apologized "I thought that, after all this years, I was a burden to you, someone who will always drag you down" Her own tears, also trickling down the same as him. He wiped them off and soften the grip on her shoulders by his other arm, till he let go. His hands wiping off her tears.

"I'm sorry if I ever made you feel that way, I'll try to make it up to you to any way I can". He said, his voice still incomplete by the crying he did a while ago.

"About that sudden confession" She said, now trying to wipe her own tears away. "I'll think about it. Maybe it can even serve as your birthday present you know"

"I'll wait for that on your part"

"Let's go?" He brought out his hand. She accepted and grabbed it.

"Let's go" She smiled, the first time she ever smiled, which made his heart flutter and beat much faster than his sudden confession did. They had gotten themselves through the worst. Now, they are going home.

>:T

"Damn, never knew that brat had guts" Dirk said.

"My little boy, all grown up" Clarisse trying hard not to cry.

"Hard to believe they're just eleven year olds" Dirk laughed, trying to hold back the tears while thinking the bitter memories he endured.

They've been watching at the bushes all this time, thinking that something might happen after seeing Evan's face go out the door that morning. Clarisse then used her magic to input a tracking spell, just in case there will be something important or dangerous happening to him, and good thing she did so.

Dirk was helping out when her senses suddenly tingled.

"This is it" She said, excited about the upcoming showdown.

"What is?" Dirk asked.

"Well, my little boy got a looked on his face as if he was determined on saying something, plus the fact that the girl stopped coming a few weeks ago" She smiled much more wider, grinning at having the first seat on watching the greatest drama to ever show.

"This will be good I tell you!"

"That brat, getting ahead of me..." Dirk mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Clarisse, hearing what he said, confused on the sudden statement. Dirk, blushing cause she heard him, just tried to act nonchalant and cool to avoid getting teased by her.

"I mean, after this, he will get that sweet yes. While I'm still here, getting rejected every so often that it's making my heart go numb".

Clarisse smiled at the confession she got.

"Well, let's go then, shall we?" She asked, giggling at pure delight to seeing her little boy becoming a young man, ignoring how Dirk made the confession this time.

"Okay okay" He sadly replied, as they both teleported away to a nearby bush, waiting for the oncoming confession of the decade.

>:T

"How go the time past" Said by the hooded man.

"Yeah, I mean, ever since we've been training and trying different strategies, it's finally time" Replied the hooded lady.

They've been stockpiling resources and supplies ever since the failure of five years ago. This time, they won't ever fail again on killing the boy. As failing to kill the boy, means death.

They were still in the same room where they contacted their master five years ago, where they got mercilessly strangled almkst to death. Luckily, their master gave them another chance to serve.

A lot more items filled the once empty spaces. The bookshelf and table sit idly on the right side, but, maps, potion brewers, and opened forbidden books were placed on the table. Potions, full of lethality, were concocted in case the two guardians show up again. Dagger pouches worn on the knee, light armor equipped from the top to bottom, hidden only by the cloak they wore, and a pouch full of the potions they brewed were stored on the belt on their waists.

"How much time do we have left before the foreseen tragedy?" Asked the hooded lady.

"Well, its bound to come sooner or later, as it is already time" Answered by the hooded man.

"Have you placed a barrier around the house?"

"What for?"

"To keep it safe, of course"

"What will be the point of safeguarding the house when there will be no people left to torment?"

"How about the girl?"

"Leave her behind, she has lived her purpose and let her die a painful death, eaten by the beasts that is to come".

"All on you then"

After that, they both have gone outside to set out the preparations they were ordered to do. Preparing for the tragedy that is to befall the village, and with it, the chance to kill the boy.

>:T

She turned twelve. Her birthday was in the season of winter and no one really knew. Her parents had always forbid her to tell anybody when was her birthday ever since she accidentally knew when it was. Her birthday was always treated like the other days of the year. Days of scolding, days of inferiority, days of pure disappointment.

Ever since she was ever born, she was always treated like she was mistake to begin with, a miscalculated move that lead to her parents downfall, and was always pointed as the bringer of their bad luck.

She never knew what happiness meant, and so she always looked at every coldly, unable to smile, unable to be excited, unable to smirk, unable to do any face gestures, as she learn that happiness were just something that will only hurt her in the end. Raising her hopes up, only to be disappointed in the end.

That's why she never wanted anyone...

That's why she never befriended anyone...

Except for that lone boy...

Who stood with her until the end...

After they both confessed to each other, they started to be together more frequently. Sharing ideas, knowing something they never knew of the other, and always treated life as something to be happy to have. He might've never knew that she aged first before him, but that was fine for her. His happiness is what she always thought about. She always tried to impress him, trying to repay back those four years of him being with her.

She thought that life is finally treating her right.

She hoped that maybe, this might last forever

She hoped that someday, she can repay him for everything he has ever done to her.

That night, she was planning on what to do for his birthday tomorrow, till she heard something, an explosion.

She looked towards the windows, thinking that maybe she was daydreaming. But no, she wasn't.

The village was on fire, the villagers getting slowly swarmed by monsters. Houses burning, people dying.

"No" She said, slowly putting both her hands on both sides of her face.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" She repeatedly said, the more she talked, the more higher the pitch her voice become.

She looked beyond the window, and seen that monsters, small and big alike, were swarming the town, and with them, a huge figure started flying, flapping its gigantic wings while spewing fire on the nearby houses.

In the first time in her life, she thought that everything went perfectly. Her life, starting to go to the right direction. But, she was wrong, she should've never expected that everything would go as she thought it to be.

While the dragon continued spewing fire at the nearby houses, she thought about one thing, one statement.

"Why is life, being unfair to me?"