STAGE NINETEEN: Unexpected Betrayal
On the morning of their departure, Freyja and Kirin headed straight to the small cave deep in the woods, first thing. Freyja was both excited and uneasy meeting Keon. She ran ahead of Kirin to the entrance. "Keon!" She called, and he's there.
"Freyja..." Keon's face lit as he turned to her. "Did you wait long?" She asked. Keon shook his head.
In reality, Keon has been there since midnight. He has been contemplating on revealing his real identity to her, and that night, he resolved to tell her everything about him. "Maybe if it was Freyja," he thought, "She'd understand." He firmly held her shoulders and faced her eye-to-eye. "Freyja, the truths is I am..."
"I am..."
Blood drained from Keon's face the moment he lifted his eyes to see the person behind Freyja.
Wide eyed, fists trembling, Keon quickly backed away from Freyja. And like an injured wild beast, he drew his daggers without hesitation. "What the hell are you doing here!?"
In defense, Kirin pulled Freyja away, hiding her behind him while he summoned his dark aura blade. "Kirin, what's going on!?" Freyja's call fell into deaf ears as the two charged straight at each other. Freyja could not even get a hold of what's happening by the speed of their movements. She could only hear metal clashing, grunts, droplets of blood on the ground.
"Stop it! Kirin! Keon!" Not even Freyja could stop them. Freyja shouted and shouted. But was totally ignored. Desperate to break the fight, she recklessly charged towards them, and threw her arms around Kirin. Keon quickly pulled his daggers back the moment she came close. And so did Kirin.
"Keon, are you here to assassinate me? Or Freyja?" Kirin asked, still with his aura blade out and ready to attack. "Wait!? Do you know each other?" Freyja tried to pull Kirin back, but he won't budge.
"Keon Aethelmaer is my younger brother." Kirin said.
Freyja had a hunch, but was still speechless in shock. Clearing her throat, recalling the assassins that tried to kill her since she cluelessly arrived in that world, she instinctively asked him, "Are you... going to kill me too?"
Keon looked away. Obviously, the answer is 'no' from the surprised look on his face. And even if he did know that Freyja is the same 'Lenfiare' their father is desperately trying to assassinate, he wouldn't have cared about it. The only thing that bothered Keon is Kirin. He hates Kirin more than anything.
And now, the one and only person he chose to trust, betrayed him. To him, Freyja betrayed him, and went to Kirin. Keon felt his heart and soul sank deep down into the drain.
Keon turned his back without a word, but Freyja mustered up enough courage to run to him and grab his hand. "Wait!" He stopped and turned to face her, eyes still red with rage. "Freyja what are you doing!?" Kirin protested, but she signaled for Kirin to trust her. Reluctantly, he did.
Freyja took a small, handmade beaded bracelet from her pocket, and shoved it into Keon's hand. "I didn't know, Keon. I'm sorry. I really didn't know..." Her voice was breaking. Nevertheless, she continued. "I was never really good with people. When I first saw you, I thought you were scary. But you turned out to be a good person after all. I am happy to have a friend like you. I had lots of fun! So Keon, no matter who you are, you are still my friend Keon! Even if you hate me now."
"Happy birthday."
Keon squeezed the bracelet in his hand. He didn't have enough guts to throw it away. He yanked his arm off her grasp and ran out of the cave without another word.
Keon ran, as fast as he could, as far away from them as possible. He's never ran with this haste before, not even when chased by deadliest enemies. There is no wound on his chest, yet, it felt very, very painful.
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