Lady of the Lake

The pine tree had dendritic branches that swayed gently in the breeze. 

On one of them sat a cloaked figure. The face was hidden beneath the shadow of her hood, though strands of hair that spilled out told enough that she was a girl. 

"The first seat lied. The target's alive."

She raised her wrist to her lips and spoke.

"…What? Just watch and leave him be?"

Her brows twitched under the hood as she pressed her lips thin, clearly displeased by what she heard.

"But that's—"

But before she could continue arguing, the voice cut off. Thus with a sigh of annoyance, she lowered her hand and gripped the small crest pinned to the sleeve of her shirt inside her cloak.

'Eden Hart…'

She thought bitterly.

Three brown bracelets on her wrist shimmered as she locked her gaze onto the boy standing still in the center of the lake below as if unaware of the eyes watching him.

'...Traitor. Your lovely brother should just die.'

She smiled.

She may not have been given permission to eliminate the target now thanks to the change in orders, but that did not matter.

Because.

Grr—!

From the cliff above, the aberrant lunged, mouth open and claws drawn, and ready to kill the boy.

She watched as the boy below did not run. Instead, he raised his blade with both hands, wrapped it in glowing cyan zaen, and braced for the impact.

Clang!

The clash rang out like thunder across the lake.

Blood burst from the boy's eyes, then his nose, and finally, his mouth.

'Yes…'

Making the figure's smile wider.

'That's it. ...Die.'

Clang!

The impact sent both him and the aberrant flying backward, but the boy looked far worse. His entire frame shook, and even his ears now leaked blood.

She frowned.

'Kill him already…!'

Her gaze sharpened on the aberrant, as if trying to will it to finish the job.

But it did not move. It just stood there on a rock near the lake like something held it back.

'What are you waiting for? Just—'

Then, everything shifted.

She felt a wave of pure bloodlust all at once, a sensation that felt like standing beneath a waterfall of knives and she froze as her eyes snapped back to the boy.

He was still standing.

Barely.

But cyan zaen now flowed across his skin like second skin and his hair began to lift as if caught in some upwards wind.

Her breath caught in her throat.

'W-What…?'

She could feel the goosebumps crawl up her arms; or at least, until everything paused.

The air.

The falling snow.

Even her heartbeat.

The moment stretched longer than it should have. The world held its breath.

When time resumed, the boy had collapsed into the shallow lake, and the aberrant was already split cleanly into two, its body falling apart with a splash.

She did not move.

Her mouth slightly opened and her heart thundered in her chest.

"What… just happened…?"

Before she could fully process the answer…

Step.

A woman— small, petite, and slender— walked across the surface of the lake as if the water meant nothing and was moving toward the boy and the corpse of the beast.

Her instincts screamed.

'Run.'

But her body would not listen.

She could not move a muscle. From her hands, feet, and even her tongue. She could not move any of them.

Her eyes tried to shift, but even they stayed locked.

'That's… the…'

The words did not come.

All she could do was silence her breath and pray she had not been seen. Because if the woman noticed her. she would die.

'...Lady of the lake…?'

Step.

After examining the bot, the woman stopped and slowly raised one hand and pointed two fingers in her direction.

Death.

It was coming.

There was no mistaking it.

The air around her warped, and her mind went blank as power surged from the woman's fingertips.

In desperation, she bit down on her tongue.

Pain shot through her head, and with it came movement or control returning to her limbs.

But.

Cra— Crackle!

A condensed spear of zaen pierced the air and slammed into her shoulder just as she tried to move, tearing through her cloak and knocking a part of the crest clean off her sleeve while also leaving a thin wound that sizzled with pain.

"Damn it…"

She hissed through gritted teeth but did not waste time.

She turned and ran— through branches and leaves and falling snow— and the glow of the lake behind her slowly faded from view.

***

Meanwhile.

Step.

In the middle of the lake, a small woman walked gently across the shallow surface. Each step did not sink but left soft ripples that spread in perfect circles beneath her bare feet.

Her hair, long and silver-gray, trailed behind her like mist and were almost brushing the water. 

Thick, dark lashes framed her sharp, sculpted face that was too sharp to be called pretty, but too ethereal to be ignored.

If someone were to see her, they would likely call her noble, or something like that.

Step.

Ahead of her, dark zaen hovered over a lifeless body: the familiar kind that only one creature in this region could carry.

"An aberrant?"

Her brow furrowed.

"Strange.

"How long has it been since one of you got in here?"

It had been at least a hundred years since the lake had been breached. Still, with how harsh this winter was, perhaps the coldest she had seen in her long life, maybe it was not so strange after all.

Step.

She drew closer. 

But when she saw the body clearly— sliced from hip to shoulder and its black blood leaking slowly into the lake— she paused.

Crackle! Cra—

Suddenly, white zaen flickered and encircled her body like threads of silk, making the water beneath her feet rose instinctively and shieldied her against the corruption touching her domain.

"Who dares taint the pure water of—"

But she stopped mid-sentence.

Because.

She felt something. A memory of a presence she could not quite name. Then her eyes caught it: a body, face-down and motionless in the water.

His black hair with strands of brown floated gently around him.

"...Young lord?"

The words slipped out.

Unconsciously.

As if that memory belonged to someone she had known. But then again, she blinked and shook her head slightly like she was brushing the thought away.

Step.

She walked forward again and let her zaen stretch outward like tendrils and lifted the body gently so he floated face-up.

He was still breathing.

Faint.

But she could still hear the faint heartbeat. 

She crouched low just over him and whispered again.

"Who are you?"

Then, as if her voice reached him, the man opened his eyes and their eyes met for a moment before he spoke.

"I… Iria…?"

"Iria…? Me?"

She blinked and tilted her head slightly, as if surprised by the name.

"Did he mistake me for someone else?'

She studied him carefully.

He was still, almost like a corpse already but she could tell his soul had not crossed fully yet. That name… it must have meant something to him.

But not to her.

After all, she knew the man before him was dying— or maybe already died after saying that name. After all, it was common to have flashbacks when dying. 

Still.

She crouched down, and poked his cheeks with her pointing finger.

Poke. Poke.

'Is he really dead?'

Poke.

But there was no response and she could not hear his heartbeat anymore either. 

With a light sigh, she stood again and waved her hand slightly. The black blood of the aberrant that was still spreading across the lake began to separate as the water around it shimmered and each dark particle lifted away from the lake, broken apart, removed, until only purity remained.

Afterward, she crouched once more and brushed a few strands of wet hair away from his closed eyes.

"You look like him." 

She whispered.

If she had been born in another time, if she were not a creature that had lived for centuries beyond the kingdom's founding, she might have stolen this one away.

Kept him.

Selfishly.

But instead… she smiled softly.

"I hope you get to meet that Iria of yours…"

Haah…

She exhaled softly, then stood up again without hurry. 

Cra— Crackle!

Beside her, a spear of white zaen formed on its own that hummed faintly in the quiet as it floated by her side.

With a flick of her fingers, the spear shot straight toward the pine tree in the distance.

To most, the tree would have looked empty. But her eyes saw more than what was shown.

"Ohh~"

She lowered her fingers and saw blood in the bark in uneven streaks as if left behind in haste by someone who tried to leave too late.

There was also a part of a crest that looked like a leaf of clover, along with a nametag.

"Sierra Dione, huh?"

She stared at it for a second, then slowly shifted her gaze back down to the boy below that was floating gently on the lake's surface.

Step.

Again, just like earlier, she crouched down and brought her hand to his face and…

Crackle!

A small portion of the lake water floated gently upward, forming a clear bubble in the air where she guided it toward the boy's lips and let it slip into his mouth, making him drink without ever needing to wake.

After all, for some reason she could not quite explain, there was a quiet feeling in her chest that told her the boy before her would wake up sooner or later.

She brushed the boy's closed left eye.

Given that…

"Since you've got the same eye as him."