Chapter 127:
Doleful Feelings
“Here we are!” Led by Angeline, the two men walked into the spacious, wide room. There were a variety of fabrics, rolls of material, and other sewing articles that were neatly tucked into their respective shelves. There were a variety of shelves on either side of the room, making the room seem smaller than it was. The large window behind the work desk made the room feel more cozy, and the light curtains were pushed aside to let more sunlight in.
As they walked in, they noticed some of the assorted items were neatly laid down on a large work table, a set of three chairs rolled around the table, showing signs of recent use. A variety of ruby-colored rolls of yarn were bundled up near the side of the table, three sets of half-done projects resting on the long, silver knitting needles. As the group approached the table, Angeline sat down and motioned for the two to sit by her, placing Clarence in the middle between the two elves.
“You’ll be making bandanas.”
“Bandanas?” Clarence asked, surprised, “Why not armor, or something more… warlike?”
“These are ‘warlike.’” Angeline said, suddenly exasperated, “They’re quite easy to knit, and if you work at half my pace you can make at least ten a day.” Angeline smiled, as if she was not angry a moment ago, as she pushed two sets of knitting needles towards Silas and Clarence. “These don’t have to be pretty, but they need to be functional. Watch me work on this here. I’ll teach you.”
Silas wanted to ask why they were making something so simple, considering how stressful the upcoming rebellion would be, however as he watched Angeline knit in front of them, he felt the knitted garments were not as simple as he once thought. As he lifted his needles and followed Angeline’s steps, mirroring her tight garter stitch with some clumsy movements, Clarence seemed to enjoy the knitting and quickly adapted to the job.
Angeline stared at the first row knitted by the two men before she let out a small sigh, “Where have you two been all my life?” She shook her head, appearing depressed before she lifted her head and smiled at the two, “You’re doing well for your first row. Keep up those movements and when you reach the end, let me know and I’ll show you how to round off and start another row.”
A short amount of time passed between the group, quietly filling around them as they knitted, taking occasional pointers from Angeline as she guided them, flying through her own project with ease. Silas was not as fast as Clarence, but he made good progress, preparing to round out his edge just as Angeline had shown Clarence how to knit his. As they worked, they quickly grew more proficient, making scarves similar to the shape Angeline made hers.
Knitting the scarf in his hands, Silas thought for a moment before he asked, “Angeline, why are we making scarves like this? Isn’t It a little warm for these?” He stared at the neckerchief-shaped scarves with a raised brow.
Rounding off another edge of her scarf, Angeline said, “It’s more to look fashionable, of course.” Silas raised a brow before Angeline added, smiling, “I’m joking. You’ll know soon enough.” Her gaze moved to Clarence, who seemed equally curious about the project.
Another moment passed in silence as the trio continued to work. The scarf in Angeline’s hands was quickly completed and thrown aside into a pile of other completed scarves as she then stared around the table, looking a bit lost as she hummed to herself, holding her head in her hand as she said a gentle, “Oh dear. I can’t seem to find my spool of white yarn.” She turned to the side, staring towards Silas with a mischievous thought as she said, “Silas, could you grab it from the closet for me? It’s right over there.” Angeline motioned to the far side of the room, where a set of double doors rested just out of view from the table.
“Will you be alright if I leave?” Silas stared towards Clarence for a moment, his frown falling deeper.
Angeline giggled, waving her hand, “Oh, you’re so funny! If he tries anything, I’ll put him back in line. It’s fine, it’s fine, just go grab those supplies, please?”
“Okay, I’ll be back in a minute.” Silas stood up, placing his needles down on the table with a gentle pat as he moved around his chair and walked to the supply closet, leaving the two to sit at the table together, their fingers moving as they continued to knit in a mindless manner.
Once Silas was sent away into the adjoining supply closet, the door having closed itself behind him, Angeline continued knitting as she stared up at Clarence, her nimble fingers fast at work at the project in her hands. “How long have you known Silas for?” She spoke suddenly, startling Clarence, who was focusing on the project at hand.
Clarence paused, staring at the elven woman, as if attempting to guess her intentions by speaking to him. If she was looking for information, he did not have much to give. “We met over ten years ago, when I was eight years old. He stormed the palace and helped me escape.” He closed his eyes, thinking of the two very days that were seared into his memory, but the throbbing pain that once came with those memories had long since faded, making him only able to think of Silas’s young face, staring down at him with concern and sorrow. “We then reunited ten years later, and fought until we got to where we are now.”
“Hm, that’s interesting.” Angeline stopped knitting for a moment as she rested her head on her hands, her gaze piercing as she stared at the prince sitting next to her. “You two must not have gotten along well. How did you manage to get this far with Silas and Maeir?”
Angeline appears not to think very hard about anything, but she’s very intuitive. I can’t underestimate her. Clarence thought as he stared at the elven woman, who put on a cute face as she prepared to listen to the prince.
Thinking for a moment, feeling as though Angeline would force him to speak if he fell silent, he finally said, “When I was locked in the dungeon with Silas, we made a deal that I would show them the escape route if they helped me get out too.” Clarence spoke, the tips of his fingers faintly trembling, remembering just how poorly he had treated Silas in the palace as a prisoner. “Once we were out, I forced him to let me follow them, and then we came here once we met with Jasmine. Silas vouched for me then.” Clarence rubbed the top of his right wrist with his left hand, appearing awkward as he spoke about their recent travels. While he did not give many details to Angeline, feeling they had not established much trust between them, he felt she was trustworthy enough to share this information. It was common knowledge, but Angeline still listened along.
Without fear of being heard, she finally said, “You stayed with them because you like Silas, don’t you?” Angeline raised a brow, her smile growing larger as she poked at the sleeping tiger, giggling to herself in amusement. “That’s why you didn’t run away when you escaped the palace.”
Clarence fell silent as he turned towards Angeline, his cheeks burning red as a look of surprise flashed across his face. Is it really that obvious? He wanted to ask himself.
Clarence fell silent, pondering for a moment before he asked, “What made you think so?” Admitting his feelings so directly was still difficult for the prince, so he could only helplessly ask Angeline with a weak smile, feeling all of his defenses had been shattered by the intuitive elven woman.
Angeline rested her hands under her chin for a moment, her eyes bright as she said with a gentle smile, “When you love someone, your eyes will linger on them, and your movements happen to mirror theirs as you move closer and closer to them, wishing to hold them close to your chest, as if there never was any distance between you.” Her words trailed out, but they were spoken in such a way that pierced Clarence’s heart, pausing for only a moment before she continued. “When I saw Mille for the first time, I knew I never wanted to leave her side, even if it killed me.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Hearing his approach to romance was poor, Clarence felt embarrassed, “What am I doing wrong?”
“I don’t know Silas well, but it seems like you two have a lot of history between each other. Have you two ever spoken through your differences? And have either of you ever apologized to each other?” Angeline stared forward with a serious expression. As she spoke, she started a new scarf with a spool of warm red fabric, “You can never redo the past, but you can always strive for a better future, Clarence. To make this relationship work, you’ll have to challenge your identity and how you think before Silas would ever accept you.”
“Then… what should I do, Angeline?” Clarence finally asked aloud, feeling his eyes redden, making him feel as though he were near tears. His emotions were heavy, pulled tight like a thread of string, threatening to break at any time, making him want to do something irredeemable to Silas, wishing to force feelings that had yet to develop. “I used to hate him for what he did to me in the past, but now, when I look at him, all I want is for him to be by my side. Am I crazy?” Clarence held his face in his hands, having already set down his knitting needles.
Staring at the miserable-looking prince, now realizing his feelings, Angeline could only sigh in response and say with a gentle smile, “You know, as we grow and develop, our feelings also change. You’re not crazy, Clarence, just a little lost, that’s all.”
Clarence stared up from his hands, the redness in his face yet to fade as he muttered out weakly, “Thank you.”
The elven woman could only smile and nod in response, feeling more attached to the prince, like a big sister.
There was a pause between the two, as if they had processed what the other had just said before the prince opened his mouth to speak again, having collected himself once again. “Now that you’ve asked me a few questions, I have one of my own.” Clarence said, his hands still clumsily knitting in front of him as the blush on his face had yet to fade. Angeline stared up at the young man, her gaze flittering with anticipation before he finally spoke again, “What are these bandanas for?”
As if anticipating a more-fun question, Angeline pouted, “That’s what you’re asking? I thought you had something more fun in mind?”
“No.” Clarence finally said, his gaze falling to the side, processing what had already been said, “I just want to know, that’s all.”
Before Angeline could answer the prince’s question, Silas had already finished looking through the closet and had returned empty handed with a bitter expression. “By the Gods, that closet’s a mess…” Silas muttered as he walked up to the working pair, Clarence’s expression full of shyness, like a love-struck fool. “Angeline, I wasn’t able to find that spool of yarn you mentioned. Is there another closet it could be in?”
“Silly me!” Angeline said as she turned to her right, retrieving a fair-sized spoon of gold yarn, hidden under another spool. “It looks like it was here all along! Sorry, Silas.” She bowed her head, her hands still holding her knitting needles, making her look apologetic.
With such a half-hearted response, Silas could only return to his seat wordlessly. The frown on his face deepened slightly as he stared at the spool and then Angeline with a stare of frustration. Angeline continued to work on her scarf, as if Silas had not stared in her direction at all. Only Clarence could respond with a simple, “Thanks for looking for it.” The tips of his ears remained hot.
“You’re welcome.” Silas said solemnly, continuing to knit. Though he was the topic of their previous discussion, he had not heard a word from Angeline or Clarence, only stepping into the room that felt a little heavier than when he left it only moments ago.
The atmosphere had quieted again, and soon they were enveloped in work until there was another knock at the door, this time pulling them out of their work for good.
“Angeline, Silas, I need you to go to the medical room.” Standing at the door was Jasmine, her face grim as she stared at the group, knitting needles still in their hand. “Clarence, you’re going to stay with me for a while.” Jasmine frowned as she said it, her gaze falling on Clarence with open hostility.
Silas stood up, placing the needles down with some haste as he said, “What happened?” His stomach fell at the thought.
“They’ll tell you when you get there.” Jasmine said, turning towards Angeline, “Can you take him there, Ange?”
Angeline put down her needles and stood up, adjusting the skirt of her dress as she said, “Of course. While you’re here, the two of you can keep knitting.” She smiled at the pair before she turned to Silas, “Follow me, I’ll take you there.”
With Angeline leading him, Silas quickly hurried out of the room. His face was pale, full of worry as he stepped down the hall with some haste, causing Angeline to hurry with him, feeling as though her height was frustratingly small as she attempted to keep up with Silas’s wide strides.
Once the door had been shut and the pair’s footsteps had disappeared, Jasmine sat down in Angeline’s chair and looked towards the prince with a hint of contemptment and boredom, as if she would have rather been paid to kill him. No words were exchanged between the two as they were locked in a cold war, Clarence refusing to speak to the woman that obviously held no good will towards him.
After a few moments of quiet, Jasmine picked up the knitting needles and stared at them, her fingers resting on the stitches Silas had made before she put it back down with a huff, “I’ve already forgotten how to do this. No point in trying.” She hummed, staring at Clarence, who had continued as if he were never interrupted. Though, faintly, Jasmine could see the worry in his expression.
“What, you worried about him?” Jasmine raised a brow, smiling towards Clarence with a hint of mockery. “Meredith’ll be fine. He’s seen worse.”
“It’s not him I’m worried about.” Clarence found the courage to say, staring towards Jasmine with a serious gaze the woman had yet to see from the man.
“Well, I am kind of bored sitting here, knitting and all.” Jasmine yawned as she stood up, stretching her arms as she looked down at Clarence, hinting at him to move, but he only sat still, looking at her with an incredulous expression.
Clarence stood up slowly, asking her in a low voice, “Are you really letting me go?”
Jasmine rolled her lip as she said this, her expression falling, “Not by yourself. Come on, I want to know what the excitement’s all about.” She waved her hand dismissively towards the prince. “Come on, Clare-bear, put down those knitting needles. I can’t be nosy without babysitting you, after all.”
“Don’t call me that.” Clarence felt a shiver trail down his spine at the disgusting nickname. The more he was around Jasmine, the more he found she seemed to enjoy taunting him as a way of expressing her dislike towards him. Compared to Maeir’s open hostility, he preferred being treated like a child compared to being treated like air.
While Clarence frowned, mulling over his poor treatment, Jasmine stared at him sideways, stepping towards the door as she said, “Huh, what’s that?” With a troublesome smirk on her face, she let out a dreamy sigh as she said, “Ah, right. Only Silas can call you that.”
It felt as though all of the women in the palace had some special hatred towards Clarence. Being the youngest in the palace, he felt like the bullied younger sibling being dragged along by those around him. If only the person teasing him so openly was Silas, he felt it would not bother him. Thinking to himself, Jasmine dragged Clarence along, unworried of what would be expressed in the meeting.
“If you leave my side for even a moment, you’re dead.” Only a moment later, Jasmine, stepping with some hustle in her step, turned to face Clarence as she said again, “Come on! I want to know what’s happened!”
Wordlessly, Clarence picked up his pace, his face as black as the bottom of a kettle.
…
On the other side of the hidden wing of the palace, Eva, Yulia, and Camille were trailing down the hall, moving towards the war room to begin implementing the years of planning they had accumulated, finally beginning the last stretch of the rebellion, hoping to end the Yursinean war against the elves and those who support them.
Loud clamoring near the front entrance sent the focused group into a bewildered hurry towards the sound.
“What was that?” Eva asked Camille as she grabbed Yulia’s hand, leading her forward.
“I don’t know,” Camille said, placing her hand on her dagger’s hilt. Camille stopped short of the door, slowly opening it as she glared around the room. Eva gasped as a familiar person came into view, her hand releasing Yulia’s as she ran past Camille.
“Meredith, what happened to you?” Eva cried as she raced to Meredith’s side. The ordinarily well-dressed Meredith was disheveled, his clothes marred with dirt, his hair strung back in a messy braid as the necklace on his neck faded in and out, signaling his mana had reached dangerously low levels. As the gem’s transformation powers faded, so did Meredith’s tense expression as he let out the breath he had been holding, and he nearly fell over without the help of Eva supporting his arm with her weight.
Meredith, breathless and weak, could only shake his head, “Let me lie down, and I’ll tell you.” His face was cool and clammy, his forehead dripping in cold sweat.
Yulia stood to the side, her face pale as Eva said with a worried frown, patting Meredith’s cheek with a handkerchief, “Yulia, can you make a mana potion for Meredith?”
“Of course. I’ll make one right away.” Yulia bowed her head, her face pale as she added, “It will take me at least two hours. I’ll hurry as much as I can.”
“We’ll be in this room over here, Yulia.” Camille said, motioning towards the door to the side hall as she looped her arm around Meredith, helping Eva lift him. “Follow me, there’s an empty room to the side.” She then turned to Jasmine, who looked just as anxious as the others. “Jasmine, grab the medical bag and Maeir. Once Maeir’s here, go get Silas.”
“Roger!” Jasmine said with a nod as she hurried to the side, running off into another hall as Camille hurried to lead Meredith down the hall, using her arm and Eva’s assistance to lift the injured elf and led him towards the medical room, now having the chance to be used after sitting empty for so long.
Once Meredith was led into the room, Camille and Eva lowered him onto the white sheets, pushing aside the quilt as they adjusted Meredith’s body. His wounds were too deep for them to address without proper medical expertise. Maeir would be able to help them more, but it would be another minute before she arrived. In the meantime, the pair prepared the medicines in the room, preparing a bowl of warm water to wash the dirt off of Meredith.
“I’m here. Where’s Meredith?” The door to the room was pushed open by Maeir, who stepped into the room with little care of being intrusive.
Eva turned to face Maeir with a worried frown, “He’s heavily injured, and it looks like he may have been hit in the chest by an arrow.”
“Let me see.” Maeir began by removing his bloodied cloak as she inspected the heavy injuries to his chest and torso, using her mana to circulate around his wounds, promoting the healing of the injuries as Camille prepared a jar of medicinal salve and a warm, wet rag, carefully passing them to Maeir. “By the Gods… what happened to you, Meredith?” Maeir said, her gaze falling over Meredith’s various injuries. Parts of his clothes were dyed red, exposing some fresh, festering injuries that were filled with dried blood and dirt. She used the warm rag in her hand to clean his wounds first, causing him to groan aloud in pain.
“Augh-” Meredith groaned, his eyes weakly opening as he said, “That hurts.”
Maeir sighed in relief, knowing Meredith was conscious as she quickly wiped down his chest before she used a clean cloth to apply the salve onto his most pressing wounds, having already stopped the worst of the bleeding. “I’m going to take care of your chest first, then I’ll start on your arms and legs. Is there anywhere in particular that hurts right now?” Maeir asked.
“Mana…” Meredith muttered, his hazy with pain.
Eva stepped in, standing by Meredith’s side with an expression of worry, holding a warm rag in her gloved hands. “Yulia will be bringing a mana potion soon.” She lifted the rag, wiping off the dust from Meredith’s face with gentle movements as Maeir continued to address his wounds, sweat dripping from her brow.
“How is he, Maeir?” Eva asked, her voice solemn as she looked at the pale elven man’s face as she wiped the dirt off of his forehead, his breathing weak.
Maeir could only say that he was stable, but without a mana potion, his condition would most likely continue to worsen. “He can pull through, but only with immediate care.”
Eva let out a small sigh, her expression full of concern as she stared down at Meredith, who could only fight against the serious injuries he had received, escaping from the Yursinean knights as he exhausted his mana to travel here in such a short period of time.
“Meredith!” Silas hurried into the room, pushing open the doors just as Maeir had before he made eye contact with Eva, who had been staring down at Meredith only a moment ago. Her face carried an emotion Silas had grown to know well. It was the emotion that carried his and Emmeline’s relationship.
Holding their gaze for only a moment, Eva retracted her eyes without a word, leaving Silas to stare towards Mereith’s weak body, his face now cleaned by the rag Eva held in her hand. She stared down at Meredith, holding the side of his face as if urging him to continue on, that he would only need to hold on for just a moment longer. Nothing could happen to him before their plans came to fruition.
Silas stepped forward, ignoring Eva’s figure as he moved towards Maeir, who had already begun to wrap Meredith’s chest wounds. “Mom, how is he?”
Maeir looked into Silas’s eyes, but remained silent.
Silas looked back at his uncle, a horrible feeling creeping up his back, leading a cold shiver up his spine along the way.
“Should we… prepare other arrangements?” Camille asked quietly, looking down at Meredith’s pained expression. Meredith gasped in pain, causing everyone in the room to flinch.
“Let’s discuss this outside.” Maeir said, looking away from Meredith, a pained expression clouding her usually expressionless face.
“Don’t be absurd.” Silas snapped, “There are no other arrangements needed! He’ll be fine!”
“Silas.” Maeir said quietly, putting a hand out to him. Silas rebuffed it, moving away.
“Enough!” Silas yelled aloud, starling those present in the room as he let out a heavy breath, the tips of his eyes red in fury, his hands clenched at his sides. “I’m done! Done with you talking about this!” His breathing was ragged, as if he were fighting his emotions before he finally let them go, finding himself screaming in frustration at the thought of losing another person. Finally, he snapped.
Once Silas’s voice echoed out of the room, Clarence and Jasmine approached the hall, hearing his usually-mellow voice call from the room. They could only quietly listen from outside the room, causing Clarence’s chest to fill with anxiety. Jasmine only stood to the side, watching as the drama began to unfold.
…
Apologies for any awkward formatting in advance. I’m using my “home” laptop as I’m visiting family atm! All chara names are red-lined for google 🙁 And it keeps telling me to stop spelling in British-English! Ah, spelling…
Huge thanks to my friends for their continued support (we had a wild night on stream last night ahaha), and to Hunny for editing this. It’s been tough as neither Hunny or I have had much time, but YMtK is still going strong ;u; More chapters to come, more drama to come with it 😀 Back to 9 pages for this week too. Feeling much better this week with some rest.
Any thoughts on Meredith’s condition? And Silas’s oncoming meltdown? Thanks all for reading, and see you next week >y<
Quite juicy!
It was clear to read. Thanks for the chapter.