Departure

"Hey, Matteo," Ares called after the man composed himself. The boy tried to do his most imposing expression and posture, also as hiding his trembling hands. All his arm was in pain due to the final fierce exchange they had, but he didn't want to show any weaknesses.

"What now?" The guard grumbled. His friends were giving him some mead, others who were drunk mocked him about his loss. Matteo just took a sip of the drink they offered and ignored them.

"I think you remember the agreement that we made at the start of the year, don't you?"

The guard rolled his eyes, giving a deep sigh.

"Yes. No one ever thought that you would be able to defeat me for real. That's the only reason we made that type of agreement with you. It's better that you lower your chin a bit more, brat." He put his hand on his waist, shaking his head slightly. Matteo had disdain in his eyes, and it got Ares in his nerves.

"Look, fool, I won this battle, so you must fulfill your promise. Where is that honor of the County's soldiers, huh? I am starting to guess if your pride is really that big as you say. Not just your, but all your friends." Ares crossed his arms.

Matteo gave a step further. He put his hand on the dagger that he kept on his waist.

"If I was you, I would be careful when talking to someone with a position as high as mine, brat. You don't have any idea of how dangerous I can be. Whether I kill some peasants here or not doesn't matter to count Mark at all. You are just another idiot imposing in his way."

The people around began to stop their celebration as they noticed that the atmosphere was getting denser again.

Once the guards saw that their young leader was holding his dagger and casting a threatening look toward Ares, they prepared to unsheath their swords as well.

"If I was you, I wouldn't do it." Someone spoke. Her voice wasn't loud but clear instead. She didn't need to yell nor make a fuss to show her presence.

After those words reached the ears of the crowd, they stopped for a while to look in the direction of that young girl.

"My father, one of the most prestigious doctors of Jasmine, has a good relationship with the new mayor of this place. You know that the major has direct contact with count Mark. My father is fond of Ares and takes him as his own nephew, which means that, if you do something too extreme to him, you will be in trouble with our family." Alice spoke in a severe voice, directing her wheelchair slowly in the direction of the crowd.

They opened the way to her, who stopped close to Matteo.

"You are the leader of the troop that count Mark put in charge of taking care of Jasmine, but you aren't as powerful as the mayor or my father, got it?"

Matteo got silent for a while, looking to all sides. He thought for a while about what to do next. However, he couldn't do anything instead of giving up and loosening the grip on his dagger.

"As I could see, there was some sort of agreement under this bet? If that's how it is, you would be hurting the name of count Mark by not fulfilling it. After all, you make the judgment and execution of the law in Jasmine. Your words are count Mark's words." She squinted her eyes, showing her final trump.

"Sure," Matteo spoke, gritting his teeth. The wrath he was feeling at that moment was even bigger than the one he felt when losing to Ares. "As agreed with this brat before, the cultivation and harvesting taxes of the next three months will be paid from our pockets. The guards will charge themselves to pay it."

That was the personal reason of Jasmine's folk to not like the guards, another flaw in count Mark's government over the Village.

He was trying to expand Jasmine and turn it into a town. That's why they had a mayor now. However, to get the proper funds to do so, he decided to apply absurd taxes in the most idiotic activities.

Hearing that two of the most hated taxes would be gone for three months was a delight for the folk.

People celebrated again, feeling that it was a blessed day. The rest of the afternoon and good part of the night was filled with shouts, laughs, and commemoration.

...

The next day, Alice woke up excitedly. The sun was bright out there. People could be seen through the window of her bedroom. They probably jumped from their beds to do their morning daily care on their farms.

Even if a bit sleepy, she forced herself to get onto the wheelchair and go to the window. There, she saw that folk working with pleasure. They no longer were planting and harvesting most of their goods for the count, but for themselves. Without the harvesting and cultivation taxes, most of their expenses were gone.

Alice gave a sweet smile while looking at that scene. She was feeling proud and happy.

Ares, for two whole years, was considered to be the problematic orphan of their village/town, who always entered into arguments and brawls, and left school abruptly.

However, on the previous night, everyone was praising him, thanking him for his efforts during those years. He was seen as people's hero.

The party lasted until midnight. Therefore, Alice went to bed really late yesterday. Ares would often sleep over in her place but in a separate room...

"Separate..." Once that word came into her mind, she blushed.

'Yesterday we fell asleep together.' She looked cautiously to her bed but, of course, he wasn't there anymore. Ares was an early bird. No matter how late he went to sleep, he would always wake up before sunrise.

'Maybe he is already training. He usually trains every morning without eating. He says that his father taught him that accelerating his heart in the morning with his stomach empty would help him to burn fat and train his focus.'

Dean would always say to Alice everything that Kavir taught him before his death. He would let her watch his trains and talk a lot about the future.

In the end, she was the one who mostly talked about her future plans, but sometimes Are would give a hint or two.

'It's strange, though. He never fought two consecutive days before. Was he that confident in his current skills or...' She remembered something. 'Today is Dean's birthday. He is fourteen years old now. Which means...'

She changed her clothes really fast and went to wash her face and brush her teeth.

Alice went to the exit of her house and left without talking to her father or eating anything.

Her heart was in a rush, and it worsened as her anxiety made her think in the worst-case scenario. What she thought before was just a guess, but knowing well Ares, he was the type who would do something like that all of a sudden without telling anyone.

Energetically pushing her wheelchair throughout the streets of Jasmine, Alice crossed the village in minutes. By anticipation, tears started to accumulate in her eyes.

She arrived at the exit of the village. The golden fields extended in the horizon. Far away, the relief of the terrain got higher, creating slight slopes, then a dense forest could be seen. It was a good view.

In front of Alice, already out of the limits of Jasmine's terrain, Ares was standing silently. The battle-axe that he inherited from Kavir Stormray was resting on his back, and the sword he always used to train, sheathed on his hip. A backpack was hanging on his right shoulder.

Seein that scene, Alice couldn't hold her tears anymore.

"Idiot... You are such a helpless idiot! You always make me cry. I don't cry for anything, but you are the only one that can make me cry so many times." She put her hands on her face, sobbing like a child. "How much will you still make me suffer, Ares? Just how much?"

The boy didn't turn to her, he kept looking to the horizon with distant eyes.

"Not anymore, Alice. I won't be the one making you cry every day anymore." His voice was resolute, showing that hardly something in this world would change his mind.

A strong gust of wind crossed the golden fields. The tall yellow grass shook, making a calm sound, and so did their clothes. Alice needed to hold her silver hair, and Ares fixed his auburn hair.

"Where are you going?" She approached her wheelchair.

"If I said to you, you would try to prevent me to go there. But I bet you have a guess."

"Of course I would try to stop you! You are going out there to become one of Them and risk your life every day without anyone to rely on, after all! How am I supposed not to try to prevent you!?"

Ares went silent again. After releasing a heavy sigh, he began to walk away.

"Ares! Please, stay here with me! Don't go! I can't... I can't just get up and run after you anymore, ok!? That disaster got something important to me as well! I can't do it alone, so come back to me, please! Stay in Jasmine beside me!"

The boy didn't stop to walk.

"Goodbye, my precious friend. I loved each second I passed beside you." His determined voice crossed the fields, even though he wasn't talking too loud.

"Ares!"

"You made part of the most precious moments I had. But now I need to move on."

"Please, listen to me!"

"I won't forget you, so don't forget me as well. Forgive me for everything I made you go through. I hope you the best for your life."

"At least... At least, promise me that you won't die!" She shouted with the last remnant of energy she had.

After hearing this, Ares ceased his walk again. He finally turned to Alice, his red eyes stared at hers with intensity. Then, his lips curled in a faint smile, that transformed into a wide one afterward.

That bright smile full of fondness and confidence kept on his face for some seconds before he turned his back again and continued his walk.

A last drop of tear ran down Alice's cheek and fell on her lap.

Her heart nearly stopped to beat once she realized muttering:

"That smile... was just like the one that Kavir gave to him that day before he..." She covered her mouth with her hands as if denying that realization.

Alice closed her eyes as she felt a tightness on her heart and her best friend went far away... so far that she couldn't reach him anymore.